***************************************************************** 02/21/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.46 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 US: Nuclear plants nationwide will soon be required to remain at the 2 UK: GOVERNMENT OUTED ON TRUE COST OF NUCLEAR POWER 3 US: Rules for nuke incidents under review 4 Spain: Martin Villa joins De Palacio to support nuclear energy 5 Austrian minister wants united nuclear approach NUCLEAR REACTORS 6 Austrian daily says nuclear section of Czech nuclear plant 7 Bavaria demands closure of controversial Czech nuclear plant 8 US: Carolina Power & Light Cuts 21 Workers at Wake County, N.C., Nuc 9 US: Area unfazed by fears about Indian Point 10 AU: Greenpeace activists face court 11 US: ACRS Subcommittee on Plant License Renewal to Meet in Florida 12 US: NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards To Meet March 7 - 9 13 French power slips despite 18-pct nuclear outage 14 Temlin: Defending the power 15 US: Indian Point Nuclear evacuation blueprint worries parents 16 Hungarian nuclear plant back to normal, after minor technical 17 Leader of new Lithuanian party against closure of nuclear plant 18 Czech cabinet decides to go ahead with public hearing on Temelin NUCLEAR SAFETY 19 UK: Inspectors' nuclear safety call 20 Russian experts design "unique" security system for nuclear 21 "DU ammunition and the dying doctor" 22 Many gulf vets file for disability NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 23 US: Yucca Mountain of Nuclear Waste 24 Train carrying nuclear waste from Germany heading for France, UK 25 US: Radioactive material shipment fee proposed 26 Greenpeace Takes Nuclear Waste Debate to Court 27 US: Editorial: Yucca's not so bad 28 US: Casino bosses address nuclear dump question 29 US: Yucca Mountain Gets Some Heavy Support, in an Advisory by 30 US: Investigators Tracking Stolen, Contaminated Tools 31 US: Mike O'Callaghan: Mayor was on target 32 US: Letter: Nuclear waste must be stopped in its tracks 33 US: Ridge backs transporting of nuke waste 34 US: Baltimora: Hot Load 35 US: Utah activists may aid anti-Yucca fight 36 Bunning seeking Paducah, Ohio conversion plants NUCLEAR WEAPONS 37 Bush, China discuss nuclear technology US DEPT. OF ENERGY 38 Pantex may see more work 39 Don't slow down Hanford cleanup Hanford Nuclear Reservation is a 40 ORNL working on high-tech soldier 41 Proposal in the works for transfer of DOE land 42 OR cleanup efforts are topic of meetings 43 PACRO, L.A. firm to bid on flourine job - OTHER NUCLEAR 44 UN nuclear watchdog to help rid Africa of tsetse fly (nuke'm) 45 German power prices ease on more wind power supply ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Nuclear plants nationwide will soon be required to remain at the highest level Sun-Sentinel: Posted February 20 2002, 5:41 PM EST Nuclear plants nationwide will soon be required to remain at the highest level of alert indefinitely and implement additional measures to tighten security, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. Since Sept. 11, nuclear plants, including the three in Florida, have maintained high levels of alert just in case of a terrorist attack. The NRC order follows a "top to bottom" review of nuclear security measures conducted since September, said Rosetta Virgilio, a NRC spokeswoman. Copyright © 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel ***************************************************************** 2 UK: GOVERNMENT OUTED ON TRUE COST OF NUCLEAR POWER Liberal Democrats 4 Cowley Street London SW1P 3NB Tel: 020 7222 7999 Email: libdems@cix.co.uk 20/02/2002 Andrew Stunell MP, Liberal Democrat Energy Spokesperson, responding to the comment yesterday by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) that making nuclear waste safe will cost £1bn a year for the next 10 to 15 years, said: "At long last the true cost of cleaning up after nuclear power has been outed. This is the final nail in the coffin for the nuclear industry." The NII report is a wake up call to the Government to stop twisting and turning over nuclear power. The Liberal Democrats will be vigilant about any attempt to fiddle the books to hide costs in the future. ENDS Copyright © 2001, Liberal Democrats. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 3 Rules for nuke incidents under review United Press International: By Scott R. Burnell UPI Science News Published 2/20/2002 4:04 PM WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Federal agencies are taking another look at regulations governing how state and local governments react to incidents at nuclear power plants, officials said Wednesday. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency conferred with states, utility companies and other concerned parties at FEMA's headquarters on a proposed revision to FEMA's Radiological Emergency Preparedness program. The change would apply to how state and local officials spread the word about a "fast-breaking" emergency, said Randy Sullivan of the NRC's Nuclear Regulatory Research group. "These regulations speak to the need for (an operator) to ensure that offsite response organizations have the ability to notify the public," Sullivan said. "The issue is that rapid notification ... the design objective of that (offsite) capability is 15 minutes." What's at issue is how long public officials have to decide on issuing an alert. Alan Nelson, senior project manager at the Nuclear Energy Institute, a lobbying group, told the meeting earlier regulations allowed for a range of decision time, depending on the severity of the incident. The change would require an "urgent action" alert to be finished 15 minutes after an operator's notice, he said. Several states have told the NRC the change robs them of the ability to use existing plans and procedures. "Offsite environmental factors, such as weather or road conditions ... could significantly influence the effectiveness of any protective actions," the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety said in a letter. "Responsible offsite decision-makers should be allowed a reasonable period of time to consider these issues." There also is the question of how multiple jurisdictions would deal with such a deadline, said Mike Nawoj, of the New Hampshire Office of Emergency Management. For instance, handling situations at the Seabrook Station plant on the New Hampshire coast also involves Massachusetts and Maine, he said, so it is unclear which decision-maker would be affected. The idea of a short deadline has some merit, however, Nawoj added. Procedures for dealing with the new REP rules might be applicable to many fast-breaking but non-nuclear emergencies, so the discussion should be targeted at a wider audience, he said. Pennsylvania officials said their governor is the only person in the state who can order an evacuation. Since the state's standard response to a nuclear emergency would be evacuating people within 10 miles of a plant, the governor would not want to be rushed into that serious a decision, they said. FEMA's Nancy Goldstein reminded the meeting simply telling the public an incident had occurred would meet the 15-minute requirements, leaving more time to decide on a course of action. Sullivan suggested a default announcement could tell an area's residents to take shelter until more information is available. Many states, however, want to take more proactive measures, Nelson said, which leaves them facing the deadline dilemma. Sullivan said the NRC will turn the information gathered at Wednesday's meeting into an exercise evaluation document for FEMA to review. Copyright © 2002 United Press International ***************************************************************** 4 Martin Villa joins De Palacio to support nuclear energy (Martin Villa se suma a De Palacio y apoya la energia nuclear) El Pais - Spain; Feb 21, 2002 Rodolfo Martin Villa, chairman of Spanish electricity company Endesa, yesterday backed the possible re-opening of the debate on the future of nuclear energy and the installation of new power stations. The chairman thus supported the stance of the European Commission's vice-president and energy commissioner Loyola de Palacio. Abstracted from El Pais ***************************************************************** 5 Home News: Austrian minister wants united nuclear approach Irish Times; Feb 21, 2002 A call for a joint European Union approach on nuclear safety was made in Dublin yesterday by the Austrian Foreign Minister, Dr Benita Ferrero-Waldner. 'We would like to have a high level of standards within the European Union on nuclear power plants,' she told The Irish Times. After all, the EU laid down standards in other respects: 'Why could we not really go into these safety standards for such important and maybe dangerous establishments? Therefore we have taken this initiative at the European Council in Laeken (last December) and at least now there is the possibility that a report will be made in the EU on the different nuclear power plants.' Asked if she wished to see all such plants closed down, she said: 'In the end, as long-term strategy, this certainly would be important but we also know that this can only be a long-term strategy.' She believed this was an issue of common interest to both countries: 'Ireland and Austria have a real issue.' Dr Ferrero-Waldner met the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, during her visit. Irish fears about the Sellafield nuclear complex are paralleled by Austria's concerns about the Temelin plant in the Czech Republic. A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the two ministers had agreed to 'work closely' on nuclear issues. Dr Ferrero-Waldner had been critical of a recent visit to Iraq by Mr Joerg Haider, the controversial Austrian politician. But how long more could she and her People's Party colleagues continue in a coalition government with his Freedom Party? 'The members of the government clearly also said that this was counter-productive. Like me, they had no idea of Mr Haider's trip.' On the Nice Treaty, she said she did not wish to interfere in Irish affairs. 'In the end it was a compromise and a compromise was important for giving a good basis for enlargement.' ***************************************************************** 6 Austrian daily says nuclear section of Czech nuclear plant affected by latest defect BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 20, 2002 Linz, 19 February: The last defect at the Czech Temelin nuclear power station has allegedly also affected the nuclear part of the station, the Linz-based daily Volksblatt said today, referring to an interview with Michael Schroeren, a spokesman for the German Environment Ministry. "Certainly, we believe that the defect was discovered in the nuclear part but it is not everything. We want to know more and we are therefore demanding further explanation," the paper quotes the spokesman of German Environment Minister Juergen Trittin as saying. "We have been demanding a halt to the station for a long time, this would be the best solution. We have called on the Czech government to only put the reactor into operation again after the causes of this, apparently very serious incident, are clarified," Shroeren said. He said that given the agreed checks of Temelin's safety standards Trittin considers it necessary to inform European Union countries in the framework of the Czech Republic's EU accession talks about the reasons of the latest failure and the conclusions which have been drawn form it... Except for the latest accident, all previous defects on Temelin were called "minor", "standard" or "usual" by both the CEZ power utility, which operates Temelin, and the State Nuclear Safety Office (SUJB). None of them involved a radioactivity leak. Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 2108 gmt 19 Feb 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 7 Bavaria demands closure of controversial Czech nuclear plant BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 20, 2002 The government of Bavaria, Germany's largest state, has called for the decommissioning of the Temelin nuclear plant [in southern Bohemia]... According to the government, an endless series of technical faults at Temelin is the main reason behind its today's move. Bavaria believes that the nature of these faults is so serious that it would be irresponsible to keep the reactor in operation and that it is not possible to rectify all of the plant's technical flaws. Source: Czech TV1, Prague, in Czech 1815 gmt 19 Feb 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 8 Carolina Power & Light Cuts 21 Workers at Wake County, N.C., Nuclear Plant Karin Schill Rives , The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News ( February 21, 2002 ) Feb. 20--The Shearon Harris nuclear plant in southwestern Wake County laid off 21 workers last week in one of the largest one-time cuts at the facility in recent years. Progress Energy subsidiary Carolina Power & Light, which owns the power generating station, said the layoff was part of an effort to streamline company operations and reduce costs. Clerical, scheduling and regulatory affairs jobs were among those eliminated. Also, several workers were let go from a group that planned and oversaw the replacement of three steam generators at Shearon Harris, a project that required several years of preparation and was completed during a refueling outage during the fall. No workers involved in safety, security or critical plant operations were dismissed, said Jeanne Bonds, a spokeswoman for the plant. Four of the workers laid off last week were offered other jobs within the company, but nobody has accepted the offer as of yet, she said. In all, about 485 CP&L employees and 90 permanent contractors work at Shearon Harris. Since Jan. 1, 2001, Progress Energy has cut 82 jobs at its four nuclear plants in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. But those layoffs were not atypical for Progress Energy, which employs 16,000 people, mainly in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, said Keith Poston, a company spokesman. "Business unit by business unit, plant by plant, we're always looking for ways to do things more efficiently," he said. "That means cutbacks from time to time, but we're not looking to downsize. Overall, we're hiring more people than we're laying off in different parts of the organization." With a few exceptions, energy companies have fared well this recession, with few layoffs being attributed to the slow economy. The layoffs that occurred at Progress Energy's nuclear plants over the past year are not related to CP&L's merger with Florida Progress in 2000, Poston said. About 500 jobs were trimmed as a result of that transaction, most in Florida. But since then, the company has been trying to hire as many workers as it laid off, as new positions open up, Poston said. At the moment, Progress Energy has 200 vacancies in Florida and more than 100 unfilled job openings in the Carolinas. (c) 2002, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Distributed by Knight ***************************************************************** 9 Area unfazed by fears about Indian Point The Advocate - February 21, 2002 Staff reports Safety at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester County, N.Y., has been hotly debated since Sept. 11, but it's hardly caused a ripple in southwestern Connecticut. Though the area is within the plant's 50-mile "peak injury zone," local residents and officials have not been part of a push to increase safety at the Buchanan, N.Y., plant or shut it down. But the Stamford-Norwalk area would be directly affected should a terrorist attack or accident result in the release of radioactive material, scientists and activists say. "If there were an accident, the winds would likely send the radiation toward the east," said David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety engineer at the Cambridge, Mass.-based Union of Concerned Scientists. Reactors at Indian Point 2 and 3 each generate about 1,000 megawatts of electricity when running at full power. An attack could cause the plant's fuel -- essentially radioactive steam -- to explode, with radiation spreading beyond the 10-mile emergency zone established in the facility's 2,000-page evacuation plan. Concerns about the possibility of a catastrophic accident or attack at the plant increased dramatically after the Sept. 11 attacks. Such fears were given further credence by President Bush's State of the Union address last month that indicated terrorists had diagrams of American nuclear power plants. More than 7,000 New Yorkers, 40 organizations, 30 municipalities and dozens of state legislators in the Empire State are engaged in a battle to shut down Indian Point. But in Connecticut, there have been no organized efforts to stop the plant's operations. "This (issue) has been raised; it's an issue in our emergency planning," said Greenwich First Selectman Richard Bergstresser, whose town is 23 miles from the plant. "On the priority list, it's not very high." Federal guidelines allow up to 432 gallons of fuel to leak per day before the plant is considered unsafe. But a report of small radioactive leaks at the plant earlier this month -- deemed "insignificant" by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission because it was emitting only 0.04 gallons of fuel per day -- generated new fears among some New Yorkers. "We've gotten into huge problems before and now it looks like we're heading into huge trouble again," said Stephen Kent, coordinator of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, referring to an incident two years ago in which a radioactive generator leak closed the plant for nine months. The coalition consists of 40 groups working to close the plant. A federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission study determined that, in the event of disaster, the area within 17.5 miles of the plant would be considered the "peak kill zone," Kent said. The area within 50 miles would be considered the "peak injury zone." "What that means is, at 50 miles out, (people) would take in enough radiation dosage to get a lethal cancer," Kent said. Even though communities all the way to New Haven could be affected, the plant has only a 10-mile evacuation plan, Kent said. Roads and highways could not handle the traffic if residents were to flee, he said. "What Fairfield County residents need to realize is there is not an evacuation plan beyond the 10-mile zone, and if it does happen, it'll be a huge problem," Kent said. "Nobody would be able to get anywhere." Emergency officials, however, note that Greenwich, Stamford, Darien and New Canaan, which make up the Southwest Connecticut Local Emergency Planning Area, have plans in place. Whether it's a nuclear-powered satellite dropping out of the sky, an accident involving the transportation of radioactive material or an incident at Indian Point, the area has a plan, said police Capt. Thomas Lombardo, Stamford's emergency management director. It includes radiation detection equipment at different sites throughout the area, and decontamination and evacuation plans, Lombardo said. Though towns up to 50 miles away would likely be affected only if the plant had an "absolute total complete God-awful disaster," radioactive material drifting aloft is a concern, he said. "We knew it can get here because of the fires at Bear Mountain a couple of years ago," Lombardo said, referring to the smoke from forest fires at the New York state park on the opposite side of the Hudson River from the plant. Officials at the NRC and Entergy Inc., which operates the plant, say the building is well guarded from terrorists. "Our containment building is built for the exact purpose of containing tremendous forces, and these same qualities will enable it to withstand tremendous forces from the outside," company spokesman Jim Steets said. The plant employs about 1,500 workers and supplies enough electricity for up to 2 million homes, he said. It provides 20 percent to 30 percent of the electricity for New York City and Westchester County. Lochbaum said the two spent fuel pools at the plant -- each containing about 600 tons of fuel -- are more vulnerable to terrorist attacks than the reactors because they are in a building that is easier to enter. The mock attacks used to prepare plant workers for emergencies do not involve spent fuel pools, Lochbaum said, so the pools' safety has not been challenged. "One of the concerns is, if you're a terrorist, you wouldn't go after the thick parts, you'd go after the Achilles heel," Lochbaum said. Steets said the pools are just as secure as the reactors because they also are protected by thick concrete buildings. The pools are mostly underground and have about 27 feet of water above them, which serves as a shield, he said. But some New Yorkers do not feel safe. Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano recently asked for more than 500,000 potassium iodide tablets, which thwart thyroid cancer induced by radiation, are given without charge to residents who live within 10 miles of the plant. Lombardo said federal officials have assured municipalities that the tablets could be transported to the area "in a matter of hours" should they become needed. -- Staff Writers Kevin McCallum and Vesna Jaksic and The Associated Press contributed to this story. Copyright © 2002, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 10 AU: Greenpeace activists face court [21feb02] news.com.au - ANTI-NUCLEAR protesters gathered outside a Sydney Court in support of 46 Greenpeace activists charged over the storming of the Lucas Heights Nuclear Reactor last year. Supporters dressed as nuclear waste barrels and holding anti-nuclear signs rallied outside Sutherland Local Court today where the activists faced charges of trespassing on Commonwealth property after they entered the facility on December 17 last year. Greenpeace organised the action to demonstrate the reactor's poor security and protest against the proposed new research reactor planned for the site. James Courtney of Bondi is among those charged after he climbed a meteorological tower during the protest. A full-time anti-nuclear campaigner with Greenpeace, Mr Courtney said Sydney did not need a another reactor. "This reactor is unnecessary and unrequired and it's a burden on this community and a danger that they do not need," he said outside the court. Among those showing their support for the activists was Nick Clyde who recently returned from the United States after facing charges over a protest against the Star Wars program. "Today I am just here in solidarity with the Greenpeace activists and the local community, that do not want to see another nuclear reactor in Sydney," he said. Supporters sang and chanted "let the Greens go, there's egg on ANSTO's face" outside the court. The case will be heard later this morning. © News Limited ***************************************************************** 11 ACRS Subcommittee on Plant License Renewal to Meet in Florida City, Florida, on March 13 NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 22 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-022 February 21, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has scheduled a meeting of its subcommittee on plant license renewal on March 13 at City Hall in Florida City, Florida. The subcommittee will review the NRC's Safety Evaluation Report on the license renewal of Turkey Point nuclear power plant, Units 3 and 4. The plant is located near Homestead, Florida. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at City Hall, located at 404 West Palm Drive, Florida City, from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Oral statements may be presented by members of the public with the concurrence of the subcommittee chairman. For more information and schedule updates on the meeting, or an opportunity to provide oral statements or written comments, please contact Noel Dudley, at 301-415-6888, e-mail at nfd@nrc.gov [nfd@nrc.gov] . Other aspects of the meeting were described in the January 31 edition of the Federal Register. ***************************************************************** 12 NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards To Meet March 7 - 9 in Rockville, Maryland NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 23 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-023 February 21, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has scheduled a meeting March 7 - 9 in Rockville, Maryland, to discuss, among other items, power uprates for the Clinton Unit 1 and Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2, nuclear power facilities, and the Nuclear Energy Institute's proposed guideline for risk-informing certain portions of reactor licensing requirements (10 CFR Part 50). The meeting, most of which will be open to the public, will be held in Room T-2B3 of the agency's Two White Flint North Building, at 11545 Rockville Pike. It will begin at 8:30 a.m. each day. A complete agenda is attached. For additional information, contact Dr. Sher Bahadur at 301-415-0138. ACRS AGENDA THURSDAY, MARCH 7 8:30 A.M. - 8:35 A.M.: Opening Remarks by the ACRS Chairman (Open) - The ACRS Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting. 8:35 A.M. - 10:30 A.M.: Clinton Nuclear Power Station Core Power Uprate (Open/Closed) -The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and the AmerGen Energy Company regarding the license amendment request to increase the core thermal power level for the Clinton Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1, and the associated NRC staff's Safety Evaluation Report (SER). Note: A portion of this session may be closed to discuss GE Nuclear Energy proprietary information. 10:50 A.M. - 12:15 P.M.: Proposed NEI 00-04, "Option 2 Implementation Guideline," for Risk-Informing the Special Treatment Requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 (Open) - The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the NRC staff regarding proposed industry guidance in NEI 00-04 and related matters. 1:15 P.M. - 3:15 P.M.: Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2 Core Power Uprate (Open/Closed) - The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and Entergy Operations, Inc. regarding the license amendment request to increase the core thermal power level for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2 and the associated NRC staff's SER. Note: A portion of this session may be closed to discuss Westinghouse proprietary information. 3:35 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.: Proposed ACRS Reports (Open) - The Committee will discuss proposed ACRS reports on matters considered during this meeting. FRIDAY, MARCH 8 8:30 A.M. - 8:35 A.M.: Opening Remarks by the ACRS Chairman (Open) - The ACRS Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting. 8:35 A.M. - 10:30 A.M.: Phase 2 Pre-Application Review of the AP1000 Design (Open/Closed) - The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and Westinghouse regarding the results of the NRC staff's Phase 2 pre-application review of the AP1000 design. Note: A portion of this session may be closed to discuss Westinghouse proprietary information. 10:45 A.M. - 11:45 A.M.: Future ACRS Activities/Report of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee (Open) - The Committee will discuss the recommendations of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee regarding items proposed for consideration by the full Committee during future meetings. Also, it will hear a report of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee on matters related to the conduct of ACRS business, and organizational and personnel matters relating to the ACRS. 11:45 - 12:00 Noon.: Reconciliation of ACRS Comments and Recommendations (Open) - The Committee will discuss the responses from the NRC Executive Director for Operations (EDO) to comments and recommendations included in recent ACRS reports and letters. The EDO responses are expected to be made available to the Committee prior to the meeting. 1:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.: Proposed ACRS Reports (Open) - The Committee will discuss proposed ACRS reports. SATURDAY, MARCH 9 8:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.: Proposed ACRS Reports (Open) - The Committee will continue its discussion of proposed ACRS reports. 12:30 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.: Miscellaneous (Open) - The Committee will discuss matters related to the conduct of Committee activities and matters and specific issues that were not completed during previous meetings, as time and availability of information permit. ***************************************************************** 13 French power slips despite 18-pct nuclear outage FRANCE: February 21, 2002 PARIS - French electricity fell across the curve this week as ample supplies of hydropower and wind power in Europe offset latest data showing an 18-percent outage of France's nuclear production for repairs. Day ahead baseload cash prices for Wednesday traded nearly 0.50 euros down at 23.25 euros per megawatt hour, with Thursday pegged at 24.00 euros. Peak demand was low and day ahead fell to 27.50/28.00 from 28/29 euros. "There is a lot of Norwegian hydropower coming through to Germany and France, as well as wind energy offsetting the drop in French production," a trader said. France usually has 10 to 15 percent of its commercial nuclear capacity offline for repairs but as of February 17, the outage volume rose 3,100 megawatts (MW) to 11,250 MW, or about 18 percent of the total 62,400 MW, according to the government's weekly report. It said Electricite de France shut three nuclear reactors last week, raising the number of French outages to 10 out of 58. "You would expect a price change because the outages are larger than normal, but EdF has not been buying a lot," said a trader, estimating that the state-owned utility has bought about 400 MW in the spot market. Week ahead was traded heavily, with baseload was about 0.50 euro lower at 23.85, 23.95 euros, peak at 31.75. The weekend was not traded but bid at 18.75 but valued more at 19.00/19.25, traders said. Prices on the forward curve slipped about 0.50 euro with the prompt, with March bid down to 23.40/23.80 euros, April at 23.40/23.80, May and June at 20.50/21.00 euros. Year 2003 was a shade softer trading at 22.95 and 23.00 euros. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 14 Temlin: Defending the power The Prague Post Online Logic-loving nuclear safety watchdog Dana Drabova avoids Temelin emotionalism By Kate Swoger STAFF WRITER Dana Drabova is a small woman with a big laugh. It bursts from her when she's confronted with statements and events that she thinks defy logic or common sense. For Drabova, the engineer who must oversee the safety of the country's nuclear power facilities, the illogical has become commonplace. Since the October 2000 launch of the controversial power plant at Temelin in south Bohemia, Drabova has often found herself at the center of an emotionally charged debate over the integrity of the Czech Republic's nuclear power program. THE DRABOVA FILE DANA DRABOVA • Age: 41 • Job: Nuclear watchdog • Title: State Office for Nuclear Safety chairwoman • Education: Degree in nuclear engineering from Czech Technical University • Languages: English, Russian, French and German The Temelin plant, a complex hybrid of communist-era technology and Western upgrades, has been relentlessly criticized by neighboring Austria, a passionately non-nuclear nation. Temelin, eventually expected to furnish nearly two-thirds of the country's electrical power, is 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Austria's border. The latest round in the ongoing Temelin controversy came on Feb. 7, when a generator flaw closed the plant for a week. Drabova admits the problem was among the more serious glitches the plant has faced since it began operating 15 months ago. Each flaw, however small, has provoked strong protests from regional environmental groups and government officials. The 41-year-old Drabova, head of the State Office for Nuclear Safety, regards the tone of these passionate complaints as foolish and unproductive. A self-professed logician, she insists they only get in the way of ensuring the plant is working effectively -- and safely. "The emotions are really the hardest thing," she said in an interview at her office in Prague 1. "To solve problems which are based on technical solutions with such a lot of emotions [in the mix], it is almost impossible." But Drabova says she is undaunted. On a conference room board near her desk, scrawled in a colored marker, is the motto coined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in World War II: "The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer." The board is also cluttered with reminders, photos, cartoons and a childlike sketch of the Temelin plant drawn by President Vaclav Havel. But it is the Corps of Engineers phrase that has stuck in her mind as the facility faced an onslaught of criticism. The Czech government, which regards the facility as a source of pride, has defended the plant and its right to manage it without outside interference. European Union officials helped the Czech Republic and Austria negotiate a Temelin pact in November. The deal, in which the Austrian government agreed to drop its objections in exchange for safety modifications, appeared to end a year of often-bitter squabbling. But the ink on the pact was hardly dry before heated rhetoric resumed. Last month, Prime Minister Milos Zeman lashed out at Jorg Haider, a former leader of Austria's nationalist Freedom Party, which has championed the anti-Temelin movement. Zeman called Haider "Austria's political Chernobyl." He did so as nearly 1 million Austrians signed a nonbinding referendum backed by the Freedom Party that called for the plant's closure. "Only a person who is not informed, I avoid the term 'idiot,' can support this petition," Zeman said of those who supported the referendum. The Freedom Party, a member of Austria's ruling coalition, wants Vienna to veto this country's EU entry until Temelin is definitively shut down. The Czech Republic hopes to join the EU by 2004. The Feb. 7 generator malfunction prompted German Environment Minister Jurgen Tritten, a member of the environmentalist Green Party, to reiterate pleas for the Czech government to reassess the safety of the plant. "The latest, and serious, accident has justified my demand," he said. Drabova says that she is still optimistic that Temelin will overcome outside political resistance and enter full commercial operation. "There will be quite a lot of difficulties still," she warned. "[Temelin] will never be a superstar, but it will be a normal, safe factory in the end. I'm pretty sure of that." Temelin has not started out as a superstar. A turbine flaw caused a four-month shutdown last summer. There have been other brief closures, none of them connected to nuclear leaks. The recent generator problem, also nonnuclear in nature, bothers Drabova because it involved a chain of minor mechanical malfunctions. But she still maintains that Temelin's problems are regularly exaggerated because it is a nuclear plant that incorporates Soviet design. Such response, she says with Spock-like insistence, is simply illogical. "A nuclear power plant is like a conventional power plant, only with a different source of heat," she said in fluent English. "Coal plants have similar problems [to Temelin's], but that's not interesting," she added wryly. Indeed, many people have taken a keen interest in Temelin. And its most vocal critics have also taken aim at Drabova, saying she has been influenced by the government's adamant position in favor of the facility. Radko Pavlovec, the commissioner for nuclear energy in upper Austria, the border region closest to the plant, cites a photo of Drabova kissing Zeman at Temelin's launch as evidence of her cozy relationship with the government. "Her position is most important," Pavlovec said. "If [Drabova] is not strong, not able to withstand pressure from the [government] ... the people below her cannot be strong." "[Temelin] will never be a superstar, but it will be a normal, safe factory in the end. I'm pretty sure of that." Dana Drabova, chairwoman, State Office for Nuclear Safety Greenpeace's Jan Haverkamp, another critic, thinks Drabova made a promising start when she took the post in 1999. Since then, however, he says she's become "a priest in a kind of strange nuclear religion." Greenpeace, among the world's more widely known environmental groups, has repeatedly claimed that a pipe weld in the reactor was repaired improperly. It says it obtained that information from an anonymous but reliable insider. Drabova hasn't taken the case seriously, Haverkamp said. How does Drabova respond to such charges? With a big laugh. Turning serious again, she said she welcomes criticism of her office. "State administration always has a tendency to be self-satisfied. Whistleblowers are useful," she said. She said all of Temelin's welds have been checked and will be monitored throughout the plant's lifetime. Still, ever wedded to logic, she dislikes uninformed censure. "[Some of the plant's critics] use any means they can find. It's not always pleasant but we have to live with it." --> --> Kate Swoger's e-mail address is kswoger@praguepost.cz [kswoger@praguepost.cz] (February 20, 2002) The Prague Post Online ***************************************************************** 15 Indian Point Nuclear evacuation blueprint worries parents [http://www.thejournalnews.com] --> By ELIZABETH CUNNINGHAM THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: Feb. 20, 2002) CORTLANDT — After Sept. 11, Karen Bobay of Yorktown began examining evacuation plans in the event of an emergency or attack at the Indian Point nuclear power plants in Buchanan. She quickly learned that if an emergency unfolded during school hours, her children would be driven to two far-flung reception centers — one in Purchase, the other in Cross River. "How would I get to both reception centers in an emergency?" she said yesterday. "Parents feel it would be difficult at best to get to one reception center, let alone crisscross the county to get to another." Bobay's concerns are shared by Lisa Rodrigues, president of the Lakeland Board of Education, who has long criticized plans to send some 28,000 students attending schools within the 10-mile evacuation zone of the plants to reception centers where families would be reunited. They were among 115 people who gathered at a discussion last night at Walter Panas High School called "Indian Point and What You Should Know About the Evacuation of Your Community." The forum, organized by the Lakeland District Youth Council, drew representatives from Entergy, which owns the complex; the environmental group Riverkeeper Inc.; the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services; and the Westchester Citizens Awareness Network, a group that supports closing the complex. Panelists addressed residents' concerns about evacuation plans, plant safety and the effectiveness of potassium iodide, which helps prevent thyroid cancer in the event of a severe release of radiation. Youth council members sought to raise awareness among students about school evacuation plans that place students on buses headed for reception centers. "When I talk to my fellow students about it, many of them said that they would go home because they are drivers," said Panas senior Daniel Gonzalez. "But that is not where they want to be during an evacuation." Critics of the plans say they are unworkable because roads would become clogged, and bus drivers might refuse to drive into contaminated areas to bring schoolchildren to safety. Panelist Anthony Sutton, deputy commissioner of the county's Department of Emergency Services, said before the meeting that expanding roads or adding new ones is not practical. However, he said, planners must make more efficient use of traffic arteries. "We are in the process of revisiting the whole plan," he said. Sutton said the county is using 2000 census data and student enrollments to update plans. County officials are working to locate a single facility that could hold Lakeland's 6,200 students, Sutton said. Parents would then not have to worry about children being separated among several reception centers. Melody Dineen-Cary, 17, asked Michael Slobodien, Entergy's emergency programs director, what the plant is doing to stop leaks such as a November discharge from a steam generator. Slobodien said there was a slight indication that there was radioactive gas leaking from a turbo generator but that the leakage was so small that it could not be detected. "We are monitoring this on a regular basis," he added. On Feb. 15, 2000, a burst tube in an aging steam generator in Indian Point 2 sent 20,000 gallons of radioactive coolant into the clean-water system. For months, Lakeland school officials and parents have met with county officials to improve evacuation plans. Officials from Peekskill, Hendrick Hudson, Ossining, Putnam Valley and Briarcliff Manor schools are also among those examining the evacuation plans' inadequacies and offering suggestions that suit their needs. This month, Gov. George Pataki certified the evacuation plans, but he has called for more federal review of emergency plan guidelines to ensure that they reflect post-Sept. 11 concerns. Last month, county executives from Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange certified the evacuation plans, saying they would protect the public in a nuclear emergency. Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano said last week that his administration is in the midst of "some very serious rethinking of the plan." Send e-mail to Elizabeth Cunningham [ecunning@thejournalnews.com] [http://www.nyjnews.com/survey.html] Copyright 2002 The Journal News, a Gannett Co [http://www.gannett.com/] . Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York. ***************************************************************** 16 Hungarian nuclear plant back to normal, after minor technical fault BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 21, 2002 Text of report by Hungarian radio on 21 February A technical fault has been detected in block number 3 of the Paks Nuclear Power Station [in central Hungary], but it has already been repaired and the power station is again operating will full capacity, without any problem. Balazs Kovacs, head of the Paks information centre, has said that the fault did not pose a threat on environment, from a nuclear point of view. The problem was caused by the escape of air at a joint in block number 3 of the power station. As a result of this, the efficiency of air cooling fell, therefore the concrete structure, which is the central part of the block, overheated at a few points. The reactor is in this concrete structure. According to Balazs Kovacs's information, however, it operated in accordance with all safety regulations even during the fault. The incident has been classified as level one, the lowest on the international scale of nuclear incidents. [The radio added in its next news bulletin that the fault was noticed "almost a week ago" and repaired on the same day, but it was reported to the public only today because the company "waited for the results of an investigation uncovering the detailed circumstances of the problem".] Source: Hungarian Radio, Budapest, in Hungarian 1200 gmt 21 Feb 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 17 Leader of new Lithuanian party against closure of nuclear plant BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 21, 2002 Vilnius, 20 February: Lithuania must not close down its Ignalina nuclear power plant, and preserving it will be the overriding goal of the Liberal Democratic Party being set up by Rolandas Paksas, a member of parliament and former prime minister. Paksas met the plant's managers and trade union leaders in Visaginas [location of the plant] on Tuesday [19 February], an official of an independent group [set up by Rolandas Paksas] in parliament told Interfax on Wednesday. Maintaining Lithuania's nuclear power capability will be the strategic goal of the party, Paksas told the meeting. He understood the European Union's concerns over the safety of the RBMK [high-power pressure-tube] reactors used in the station, and he said that these reactors must be replaced by new and safer ones. This approach will enable Lithuania to have a steady supply of electricity and avoid a dramatic rise in energy prices, Paksas said... Paksas gained popularity in 1999 when, as prime minister, he opposed the takeover of Mazeikiu Nafta [Mazeikiai Oil] group's management by the US company Williams International. His cabinet then had to resign. In about a year, his popularity won him the premiership again, but he stayed in office less than six months. The new party will hold its foundation congress early in May. Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English 1513 gmt 20 Feb 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 18 Czech cabinet decides to go ahead with public hearing on Temelin nuclear plant BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 21, 2002 Prague, 20 February: The government today decided that a public hearing in Germany on the 78 changes in the project of the Temelin nuclear power station would take place, Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla told journalists after a cabinet meeting. "A public hearing is considered," he said. The Czech Environment Ministry has insisted on holding the public hearing on the changes in Germany as it refuses to publish its final assessment of their environmental impact without a prior discussion with Germans. The Industry an Trade Ministry has been against it. The hearing which was to take place in the German town of Passau on 21 February has been postponed as it was not known whether the Czech government would approve it. A public hearing on the changes in the Temelin project was held in the Czech Republic last autumn in the presence of Austrians. The cabinet today also discussed the implementation of the Czech-Austrian agreements on Temelin. The state will allot this year almost 9m korunas to finance talks on the controversial south Bohemian plant. Half of this sum will be given to the Environment Ministry and the State Nuclear Safety Office (SUJB) will be given 1.5m korunas. The Czech Republic will consult Austria on Temelin approximately three times a year. At these meetings the Czechs will give Austrians information on the implementation of the agreement on Temelin's safety which was signed by the two countries' leaders in Melk, at the end of 2000. The government today also listened, in the presence of SUJB Chairwoman Dana Drabova, a regular report on the course of Temelin's completion. The next report will be submitted to the government at the end of April... Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1814 gmt 20 Feb 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 19 UK: Inspectors' nuclear safety call The Scotsman - United Kingdom; Feb 20, 2002 BY JEANETTE OLDHAM GOVERNMENT inspectors have recommended new safety measures at a nuclear power station following an inquiry into an accident in which 24 highly radioactive fuel rods fell down a shaft. The accident, at Chapelcross station on 5 July last year, was blamed on a combination of "procedural and hardware" deficiencies. A report, published yesterday, found that the incident, in which fuel rods were dropped down a 50ft shaft, was caused by a series of failures. British Nuclear Fuels, which operates the plant near Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, insisted that the rods, contained in a shielded basket, had fallen only a few feet out of a remote-controlled arm. But the company was later accused of attempting to cover up the seriousness of the situation after it emerged the rods fell more than 50 feet into a disposal chute, with 12 of them ***************************************************************** 20 Russian experts design "unique" security system for nuclear facilities BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 21, 2002 Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Krasnoyarsk, 21 February: A unique system to ensure security at nuclear facilities has been created at the Krasnoyarsk mining and chemical combine. The director-general of the combine, Vasiliy Zhidkov, today told an ITAR-TASS correspondent that the designing and production of special equipment which would make it impossible for anyone to take even one gram of plutonium from the territory of the enterprise, had been funded by the US Department of Energy. It is virtually impossible for an unauthorized person to get inside a huge mountain which houses a nuclear reactor and radiochemical production facilities, Vasiliy Zhidkov believes. Meanwhile, the new security system, which is worth over 2m dollars and which was designed in Russia, makes it possible to avoid instances of unsanctioned withdrawal of plutonium by combine employees, if any of them ever dares do this. Heightened security measures were also introduced at a nuclear fuel storage facility, where special assemblies are sent to from nuclear power stations in Russia and abroad. The facility is protected by a triple security belt in a bid to bar unauthorized persons from the storage facility. The "greens" recently tried to approach the building but they only managed to film its roof. Incidentally, "such visits do not pose any threat", Vasiliy Zhidkov said. Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0812 gmt 21 Feb 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 21 "DU ammunition and the dying doctor" By Ullas Sharma Posted Wednesday February 20, 2002 - 11:46:26 AM EST The first communication I received from Prof. S.-H. Gunther was in June of 1997. It was a small article titled "Gulf War Syndrome - A Parallel to Tschernobyl." It included some photographs of deformed babies afflicted with cancer. My author, Professor Burchard Brentjes, wanted this article of his friend Prof. Gunther included in his forthcoming publication "Oil, Dollars and Politics." At the end of the article a brief resume of Prof. Gunther was attached. It said that Prof. Gunther, a German, was the president of Yellow Cross International (YCI), a humanitarian organization floated in 1992 by five individuals; two Polish and two Franco-Austrians and the professor himself. They were active in distribution of aid and medical assistance to suffering children. The YCI was working closely with Red Cross International, the Red Crescent Society, Caritas and some other organizations. YCI's major work was among the Iraqi children of Baghdad, Basra, Kerbala and Mosul. They had managed to personally deliver tons of food and medicines to the kids there and the Austrian authorities had been helpful in transporting the material free of charge. The article itself was a brief account of Prof. Gunther's experiences in the Gulf after the Gulf war of 1991. From the reference in the article, I could see that Prof. Gunther was a widely traveled man who also spoke about his work from various forums and had been interviewed on the television and the radio many times. Mother Teresa had signed a picture of hers and blessed him appreciating his work. I may add here that from his degrees I could see that he had most of his education in England. According to the article, Prof. Gunther visited Iraq in March of 1991 and saw projectiles in Iraqi combat area that had the shape and size of a cigar and were extraordinarily heavy. He also found some children playing with these projectiles. By the end of 1991 he diagnosed an unknown disease among the Iraqi population which caused renal and hepatic dysfunction. Over the years Prof. Gunther conducted studies of the disease and came to the conclusion that the reason for the affliction was contact with depleted uranium (DU) ammunition; especially among children. The typical characteristics of the disease are: 1) An alarming increase in infectious diseases, caused by most severe immuno-deficiencies in a great part of the population. 2) Frequent occurrence of massive herpes and afflictions also in children. 3) AIDS like syndromes. Low radioactivity was possibly also related to virus infections in animals. 4) A hitherto unknown syndrome caused by renal and hepatic dysfunctions. 5) Leukemia or malignant neoplasm and aplastic anemia by disturbances of the bone marrow. 6) Congenital deformities caused by genetic defects - also found in animals. 7) Abortion and premature births among pregnant women. Prof. Gunther also found similar DU side-effects in children of British and American Gulf War veterans. In the opinion of the American nuclear scientist Leonard Diets, the Gulf War in 1991 was the most toxic war in history. This disease came to be known as "Gunther syndrome." In 1972, the Canadian scientist A. Petkau published studies that said that very small chronic doses of radiation can be one hundred to one thousand times more lethal than what is generally believed even by experts. Similarly, the American scientist J.W. Gofman, who was involved in the development of the atom bomb, cautioned against the effects of low ionizing radiation and said that now after knowing the effects of such exposure any carelessness on the part of the scientific community will amount to "murder" as he called it. Prof. Gunther has done a lot of research on the effects of depleted uranium ammunition used by the allied forces during the Gulf War. The A1 tanks had a DU sheet over it as a safeguard against missiles and such other attacks. When some of the British and American soldiers returned from duty in the Gulf the Geiger scale went "crazy" at the airport. Many have complained of memory loss, dysentery and AIDS like immune deficiency syndrome. The government in the West has brushed aside complaints from such victims. The situation in Iraq is much worse. While the Saudi's ensured that their deserts were "cleaned" before the allied forces left, the Iraqi's had no such luck. Kids have been found playing with such DU ammunition and this AIDS like syndrome is widespread there. For the last 30 years depleted uranium ammunition has become standard ammunition for anti-tank guns in several armies and as per Prof. Gunther, it was used for the first time in the Gulf War of 1991 by the allied forces against Iraq. It is reported that more than 300 tons of depleted uranium ammunition was fired from planes and tanks against armored vehicles and strategic targets. The radioactivity of one cigar-size projectile that Prof. Gunther found in an Iraqi combat area, are 11 mikroSv per hour. The body acceptable dose is limited to 300 mikroSv per year. By handling one such bullet you are getting the yearly dose within 27.2 hours, roughly in a day. Prof. Gunther tried to examine one of these strange bullets and got it to Germany. He found the bullet highly toxic and radioactive. The projectile was subsequently seized by a large contingent of the police who had a special squad to carry the ammunition in a thick lead container and was then disposed off in a desolate place. Some weeks later Prof. Gunther was arrested and in prison maltreated. After 3 1/2 weeks of a hunger strike he was released - ill and in bad condition. For more than a year he was under police surveillance and had to report to the police station twice a week. He was then summoned to a regional court where he was told that he could be forced to enter a psychiatric institution. A scientist and a doctor who had helped so many dying children in Iraq and other countries and the allied soldiers, was being told that if he did not mend his ways he will be thrown into solitary confinement. His pension was slashed and he could not afford to buy food for his children. This is not the end of the story. Prof. Gunther is now seriously ill and has cancerous development due to exposure to depleted uranium ammunition. He does not have enough to get himself treated and he does not have health insurance. My question is not as to who is guilty. The fact is that such DU ammunition is still being used. This must be banned. And people like Prof. Gunther must be reinstated and it must be ensured that he receives his full pension and health insurance which he deserves. We have a hero in our midst. Humanity will rue the day it turned its back on people like Prof. Dr. S.-H. Gunther because we have been shown by him and others what a big mistake it is to ignore the consequences of exposure to such radioactive material. Prof. Gunther has lived and is now dying for a cause - a cause he believes in. Such men of conviction are rare. They need to be allowed to work and show us the way to a better, healthier tomorrow. It is because of men like him that this world is still a place worth living in. Prof. S.-H. Gunther can be contacted at: Prof. Dr. S.-H. Gunther Achter de Dunen 14 D- 25826 St. Peter Ording Germany Ullas Sharma encourages your comments: usharma@YellowTimes.ORG © 2001 YellowTimes.ORG. This news item is distributed via Middle East News Online (MiddleEastWire.com). ***************************************************************** 22 Many gulf vets file for disability [St. Petersburg Times Online: ©Associated Press February 17, 2002 The Persian Gulf War has been over for more than a decade, but questions about sick veterans linger. Nearly 199,000 veterans -- or more than one in four -- who served in the Persian Gulf from August 1990 to July 1991 have filed disability claims, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. "It's stunning," says Pat Eddington, author of Gassed in the Gulf: The Inside Story of the Pentagon-CIA Cover-Up of Gulf War Syndrome. Tens of thousands of Gulf War veterans have complained of illnesses including chronic muscle and joint pain, anxiety, fatigue and memory loss. The ailments have collectively been called Gulf War syndrome. But researchers have disagreed on the causes and even whether a syndrome exists. A study published this month in the British Medical Journal suggested that unexplained illnesses experienced by some Gulf War vets are not unique and should be placed in a general context of postcombat syndrome. But other researchers and veterans groups have blamed nerve gas, pesticides and vaccines for some sicknesses. The U.S. Department of Defense says there is a higher incidence of illness among Gulf War veterans when compared with military personnel who were not deployed in the region at the same time. But "putting a label to that or having an explanation -- we're not there yet," says Austin Camacho, spokesman for the department's deployment health support directorate. About $174-million has been spent on nearly 200 studies, but none has found conclusive proof that any illnesses were directly caused by the war, said Jim Benson, a VA spokesman. The VA recently announced that a preliminary study found Gulf War veterans are nearly twice as likely to develop ALS, known as Lou Gehrig's disease, as other military personnel. ***************************************************************** 23 Yucca Mountain of Nuclear Waste February 21, 2002 Talk about itE-mail storyPrint LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Re "Nuclear Dump in Nevada Gets Bush OK," Feb. 16: President Bush states that the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site should be approved, based in part on Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's recommendation that it is "technically suitable" and "the science behind this project is sound." To what "sound science" is he referring, since study of the area is not complete? In 1992, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake caused $400,000 damage to the Energy Department's office at the Yucca Mountain study site. Although favored by the nuclear industry as a depository, Yucca Mountain is in a volcanic area crossed by 34 fault lines and perched over a huge aquifer. In addition, Nevada is the third most seismically active state after California and Alaska. When the issue is global warming, Bush concludes we need to move slowly or that the science isn't sound, yet he rushes into approval of a containment site for lethal nuclear fuel. This, coupled with candidate Bush's promise to the voters of Nevada to not to approve the use of Yucca Mountain unless it was deemed scientifically safe, is one more instance of his clear loyalty to the energy industry over the safety of Americans. Leslie Anderson Jacob Crabtree Altadena Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times ***************************************************************** 24 Train carrying nuclear waste from Germany heading for France, UK BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 20, 2002 Text of report by German news agency ddp on 20 February Hamburg: Another nuclear-waste train is rolling through Germany today. The train carrying two Castor containers [special containers used for the transport and storage of radioactive waste or fuel elements] left the Unterweser nuclear power plant a few minutes after 0400 [0300 gmt] towards the south, a spokesman for the Federal Border Police (BGS) stated in Hamburg. He added that there had been no incidents. According to information received from sources in Saarbruecken, the train is expected to cross the French border at around 1900 [1800 gmt]. The nuclear waste is being shipped to the British reprocessing plant of Sellafield. It is still unclear whether, at a stopover in Koblenz, more containers from the Rhineland-Palatinate nuclear power plant Muelheim-Kaerlich will be linked to the train and taken to the French reprocessing plant in La Hague. Source: ddp news agency, Berlin, in German 0432 gmt 20 Feb 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. ***************************************************************** 25 Radioactive material shipment fee proposed Journalstar.com: Nebraska Feb. 21, 2002 BY KEN HAMBLETON Lincoln Journal Star Nobody is really sure what it costs Nebraska when radioactive waste is shipped across I-80 and the state's two main rail lines. Whatever that cost is, Nebraska should be able to recover some or all of it, Sen. David Landis of Lincoln told the Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday in a public hearing on LB1267. Overtime for the State Patrol, training and education for emergency responders and some emergency equipment all carry costs, he said. "We stretch our State Patrol thin now, and when you think about taking someone off a duty for road safety so they can escort a truck, you have a cost," Landis said. "We are subsidizing these shipments and we're not getting the fees that some 25 states are getting." The costs will grow, too, since Nebraska will likely see radioactive material in 75,000 rail shipments and 38,000 truck shipments over the next 30 years, added Ken Winston of the Sierra Club. Nebraska lies directly in the path between eastern states and the radioactive waste dump sites in Nevada. It is estimated by the Department of Energy that more than 77,000 tons of radioactive nuclear waste has been piled up in various sites east of Nebraska and all of it has a destination west of the state. Many states have already instituted fees ranging from $10 to $4,500 per shipment to help defray security costs. Illinois, for instance, boosted its fees to $4,500 for rail shipments and $2,500 for truck shipments. Iowa and Colorado charge $1,750 per shipment. "Nebraska will be the conduit for almost 100,000 shipments over the next 10 years when the Yucca Mountain (Nevada) waste dump is open," Landis said. Landis proposes that Nebraska charge $3,000 for each rail shipment and $3,000 for each truck shipment for at least the next three years to cover the current costs and recover some past costs for State Patrol escorts of trucks from Omaha to Pleasant Dale and various inspections of the shipments. Winston said there are many unknowns about the actual costs of radioactive waste shipments across Nebraska. "What about property values for those who live along the routes of the waste?" he said. The shipment of nuclear waste has been relatively safe in recent years. There have been six accidents that involved serious damage to the casks carrying the waste from 1971 to 1990. Since then, there have been no serious accidents. However, in 1997, a towing company charged the Department of Energy $47,000 for freeing a truck with two dismantled nuclear missiles on board from a ditch near Valentine. Although it does not cover the states' costs of escorts or security, the Department of Energy does pay for cleanup of spills and accidents. Tom Richards of Omaha Public Power voiced what he called "soft opposition" to the bill. The bill's language was "too broad and the fees seemed unstructured," he said. However, an amendment to the bill satisfied his concerns, he added. Four others testified in a neutral position. Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7251 or khambleton@journalstar.com. Copyright © 2002, Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved. 926 P Street Lincoln NE 68508 402 475-4200 feedback@journalstar.com ***************************************************************** 26 Greenpeace Takes Nuclear Waste Debate to Court Thursday, Feb. 21, 2002. Page 4 By Nabi Abdullaev Staff Writer State Duma Deputy Sergei Mitrokhin posing at the Krasnoyarsk plant, where a consignment of spent nuclear fuel is being stored. The controversy surrounding a consignment of spent nuclear fuel imported from Bulgaria last year is set to hit the courts, with environmentalists accusing the company that imported the fuel of exploiting a loophole in the law to bypass new safety requirements. Greenpeace Russia has filed suit in a Moscow district court saying that the import of some 41 tons of spent nuclear fuel in November from the Kozlodui nuclear plant in Bulgaria is illegal and demanding that it be sent back. The consignment is currently being stored at the Krasnoyarsk Mining and Chemical Plant in western Siberia. Greenpeace said the state-owned Tekhsnabexport company, which was responsible for the deal, did not submit its plans to ecological experts as is required under a new law on importing spent nuclear fuel. The new law, signed by President Vladimir Putin in July, allows the import of spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing and storage but stipulates that nuclear importers must present their plans for examination by the ecological department of the Natural Resources Ministry. "The federal law demands that such industrial and business ventures undergo ecological examination before being implemented," said Vladimir Chuprov, a Greenpeace campaigner and one of the plaintiffs in the case. "Neither the contract nor the project were examined by ecologists, although Gosatomnadzor [the state nuclear safety watchdog] demanded this in November." The Natural Resources Ministry's ecological department confirmed Tekhsnabexport had not submitted its import plan. "Nothing of that kind ever appeared here," said the department's deputy head, Marianna Novikova. "Well, there was a call from the Nuclear Power Ministry a month ago asking us to conduct an examination of the project, but nobody came and brought it to us." But Alexei Lebedev, the head of Tekhsnabexport's project department, said that because the import deal was cut between Tekhsnabexport and the Kozlodui power station in 2000, the new law did not apply to the project. At the time that the deal was struck, the import of spent nuclear fuel was illegal in Russia, but Tekhsnabexport went ahead with it expecting that a law allowing nuclear imports would be passed in 2001. So now to claim that the new law does not apply appears to undermine the logic of the earlier decision to go ahead with the deal. Lebedev said the Kozlodui deal falls under a treaty on nuclear imports that Russia signed with Bulgaria in 1995. This treaty cannot be overruled by subsequent legal innovations, he said. "We cannot tell the Bulgarians to pay for the ecological examination because there wasn't anything about it in the original agreement," he said this week. "And the import contract for Kozlodui was signed in 2000, when legislation did not demand the ecological examination of the venture." Lebedev added that according to the Civil Code, if a newly adopted law does not provide for changes to earlier signed contracts, the contracts retain their legal validity. And the new legislation on nuclear imports does not demand such changes, he said. The Nuclear Power Ministry also insisted that the spent nuclear fuel was imported legally. The Kozlodui contract was signed before the new law was introduced, and because the new law is not retroactive, it does not block old contracts, said Nikolai Shingaryov, the ministry's spokesman. "There was a special procedure for the import of spent nuclear fuel to Russia that was worked out in 1995," Shingaryov said. "Until the new procedure is introduced, we will follow the older one in our work." The delay in updating safety procedures for importing nuclear fuel has left the new law in limbo, critics say. Gosatomnadzor, which ordered Tekhsnabexport to undergo an ecological examination of the Kozlodui project, said the temporary legal loophole allows nuclear importers not to follow its orders. When Putin signed the new law in July, he ordered a committee to be formed to make recommendations on updating nuclear safety procedures. However, this committee has yet to be set up, said Sergei Shcherbakov, the adviser to the head of Gosatomnadzor. Sergei Mitrokhin, a State Duma deputy from the liberal Yabloko faction who is to serve on the presidential committee, said last week the committee cannot start its work because the Federation Council is late in appointing representatives to it. Shingaryov said the committee is expected to start working in March and will submit its recommendations to the government in April. Lebedev said he expected the new procedures to be worked out by October. In the meantime, Tekhsnabexport would apply to the Justice Ministry with a request to clarify nuclear import procedures, he said. The issue of nuclear safety was put back in the spotlight last week when Yabloko's Mitrokhin, along with two Greenpeace activists and three NTV cameramen, broke into the Krasnoyarsk plant where the spent nuclear fuel from Bulgaria is being stored. The break-in, broadcast in an NTV special report, was designed to show that the country's system of nuclear safety is not just poor but "nonexistent," Mitrokhin said. Advocates of spent nuclear fuel imports argue that Russia could earn $20 billion over the next decade by importing some 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel. But opponents, spearheaded by Greenpeace, have protested the plan, saying the environmental damage caused by the imports will outweigh the financial benefits. [http://www.themoscowtimes.com ***************************************************************** 27 Editorial: Yucca's not so bad Thursday, February 21, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal COLUMN: Steve Sebelius The gambling industry has never really believed the superheated rhetoric that's always swirled around Yucca Mountain: If you build it, no one will come. And now, we have 250,000 more reasons to show that's the prevailing attitude on the Strip. On Tuesday, the Nevada Resort Association, the industry's lobbying arm, tossed $250,000 into the fight against Yucca Mountain, money that will be used to lobby members of Congress to sustain Gov. Kenny Guinn's expected veto of President George W. Bush's approval of Yucca Mountain. The fact that it's only about 1.2 minutes' worth of slot play on the Strip is only the latest clue that, for the gambling industry, this is just another day on Capitol Hill. It's not as if we're talking about Indian gambling, something the industry obviously cared about. In 1999, Nevada gambling interests spent nearly $29 million to defeat Proposition 5 in California. That's 115 times the $250,000 pledged Tuesday. So clearly, the industry doesn't believe Yucca will be the end of Las Vegas. If it did, it might have come close to matching the $5 million Gov. Kenny Guinn squeezed out of the Legislature for a two-part national legal and public relations fight against Yucca, or the $1 million Clark County ponied up for the effort. (But at least it's more than the measly $100,000 Mayor Oscar Goodman has pledged to the Yucca fight. And he says the gambling industry isn't doing anything. Go figure.) At Wednesday's news conference, gambling industry leaders and elected officials alike said the industry has lobbied for almost two decades behind the scenes against Yucca. And that is undoubtedly true. As one frankly confessed, "It's not going to help tourism." But again, the very fact the lobbying hasn't been high-profile and public proves the industry isn't that concerned about Yucca. It's not like we're talking about a proposed ban on NCAA sports betting. In that case, the industry has spared no expense to get its message heard in every corner of the country, and has issued high-profile challenges to backers. But with nuclear waste, it's all whispering in ears. And there's yet another way we can tell Yucca is not topping anyone's lobbyist list on Las Vegas Boulevard: The industry candidly admits it will continue to donate money to some politicians who are in favor of sending nuclear waste to Nevada. Tom Gallagher, chief executive officer of Park Place Entertainment and chairman of the Nevada Resort Association, says, "It's not a litmus test." To spurn lawmakers on the dump issue alone, he says, "is the worst kind of lobbying." Instead, the NRA will simply try to persuade their friends in Congress on the issue, not twist arms. But that's not the way it was with, say, state Sen. Joe Neal, the North Las Vegas Democrat. Neal, who favors increasing the top tier of the gross gambling tax, got almost no gambling contributions when he ran for re-election in 2000. Isn't that arm-twisting, the worst kind of lobbying, to coin a phrase? Apparently, Neal incurred the wrath of the Strip where the proponents of nuclear waste have not. In all of these cases -- Indian gambling, a ban on NCAA betting and an increase in the gambling tax -- the industry faced a threat to its bottom line and responded aggressively. But when it comes to nuclear waste, the state gets $250,000. But it shouldn't surprise anyone. Gambling is a business, a big business in fact. There are casinos spread across the country, and perhaps more to come on the World Wide Web. It wouldn't do for the industry to alienate lawmakers who might come to its aid on other issues, such as widening Interstate 15, a deduction for business meals, or preventing the IRS from imposing its rotten plan to tax casino tips more heavily. No matter what anyone says, the gambling industry obviously doesn't believe Yucca Mountain will return Las Vegas to the dusty days before the Mob realized it was a dandy place to launder money. If it did, we'd hear about the lobbying, and we'd see big bucks flowing to top-drawer lobbyists. The fact is, Las Vegas will sail along even if the dump is built, or so the Strip apparently believes. But the whole thing does raise an interesting opportunity for advertising. How long can it really be before we see ads urging locals to gamble more in order to help the industry pay for lobbyists to fight the dump? Hit the slots and the tables, and help stop Yucca! (It can't be a worse slogan than the official -- and sophomoric -- "Dump the Dump" trotted out Tuesday.) Remember, if you win, we all lose, so throw those coins back in, and tell Washington we're not going to tolerate nuclear waste in our backyard! Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist. His column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at 383-0283 or by e-mail at Steve_Sebelius@lvrj.com. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 28 Casino bosses address nuclear dump question Thursday, February 21, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Executives make case against repository to three GOP senators By DAVE BERNS lasvegas.com GAMING WIRE The question briefly hung in the air at a Wednesday afternoon political event that featured three Republican senators from Washington, D.C. "What would Nevada consider equitable restitution for the opening of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain?" Sen. George Allen, R-Va., asked the dozen or so casino bosses gathered at Park Place Entertainment's Hughes Center boardroom. Maybe Nevada's state and local governments would like to receive additional tax revenues. Maybe they'd like federally financed infrastructure improvements. Boyd Gaming President Don Snyder, a seemingly low-key executive who carefully chooses his words, had a quick response, recalled another casino boss in the room. "Prostitution is no longer legal in Clark County," Snyder said, "and we're not willing to prostitute ourselves." One person characterized the event as a fund raiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Another said it simply allowed casino executives the chance to provide opinions on a variety of subjects: no money required. No figures were publicly available about the amount of money raised by the event. The nearly 90-minute session began at 1:30 p.m. and saw the casino bosses chat about a variety of key issues with Allen; and Sens. Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; and Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I. Among them: the proposed federal college sports betting ban and campaign finance reform. The betting ban continues to languish in Congress while some form of campaign finance reform is soon expected to become law. But President Bush's Friday decision to develop a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain was the dominant issue. "The gist was we are being screwed by the feds and we plan to fight it," said one of the gaming bosses. "We talked about what our plans were and made the case against Yucca." Of the three men, Allen appeared to be leaning toward supporting the Yucca burial site, said one gaming executive. His state has a nuclear power plant that produces the sort of deadly radioactive waste that would be buried thousands of feet below ground at the Southern Nevada site. Nuclear-powered naval vessels refuel at Virginia Beach, Va., leaving behind their own brand of radioactive waste, much of which has been shipped in recent years to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southern Washington state. Frist and Chafee did not voice their Yucca leanings, although Chafee did vote against pro-Yucca interests in a 1999 Senate vote. All three could cast critical votes later this year when the Yucca plan faces a probable Senate vote. Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn has promised to veto the Bush decision, and the Republican-controlled House is expected to support the president, leaving the repository's fate to the Democratic-controlled Senate. So the executives from Park Place, Boyd, MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment, Station Casinos and Mandalay Resort Group were pitching their arguments. "They seemed empathetic without expressing any real willingness to take a stance in Nevada's favor," Harrah's Entertainment Senior Vice President Jan Jones said of the visiting senators. "We had a very candid discussion about Yucca Mountain, what our concerns were," added MGM Mirage Senior Vice President Alan Feldman. "They raised some good points in terms of the current political environment and how we might want to view that and urged us as Nevadans to gather our forces, come to Washington and make our case." Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 29 Yucca Mountain Gets Some Heavy Support, in an Advisory by Industrialinfo.com Thursday February 21, 5:01 am Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Industrial Information Resources Inc. HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2002--The following is an advisory by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources Inc.; Houston). Studies have been ongoing since 1982 to develop a nuclear waste repository near Yucca Mountain, 90 miles north of Las Vegas. With over $7 billion invested in studies, President George W. Bush and Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham have expressed their support of Yucca Mountain as the permanent site for high-level waste storage. Over 77,000 tons of waste is currently being stored at over 100 reactors in 34 states. For an in-depth discussion of the pros and cons of the project view the entire article at [http://www.industrialinfo.com] . Industrial Information Resources Inc. (IIR) has developed a unique power generation database ( [http://www.industrialinfo.com/espgdov.htm] ), which incorporates new build tracking, combustion turbine profiles and maintenance outage tracking into a single source dynamic database format. IIR also produces other dynamic databases for the industrial market, tracking new build project data, major capital projects, maintenance outages, shutdown and turnaround activity. For more information on energy databases visit [http://www.industrialinfo.com/equipserv.htm] or send inquires to [powergroup@industrialinfo.com] . Contact: Industrial Information Resources Inc., Houston Britt Burt, 713/783-5147 Copyright © 2002 Business Wire. All rights reserved. All the ***************************************************************** 30 Investigators Tracking Stolen, Contaminated Tools The Salt Lake Tribune -- Thursday, February 21, 2002 BY JUDY FAHYS Tools someone purchased last year from a Tooele County pawnshop are hot -- not just stolen from the Envirocare of Utah waste facility but also contaminated with unsafe levels of radiation, environmental authorities said Wednesday. "We have an investigation under way," said Bill Sinclair, director of the Utah Division of Radiation Control. His agency has been working with Tooele County health and law enforcement officials to track down a former employee of Envirocare contractor Broken Arrow Inc. who allegedly stole large ratchet and socket sets, large crescent wrenches and other tools and sold them last year to the Oquirrh Trading Co. in Tooele. The unnamed suspect has not been charged and is believed to have fled the state. Envirocare learned about the thefts in December, when a radiation monitor sounded the alarm as the man tried to leave a secure area with a contaminated tool in his pocket. Some radiation-tainted tools were found in the suspect's rented home. Others were confiscated at the pawnshop. But some evidently were sold. "While we do not believe these contaminated tools present any significant health threat to members of the public," said Sinclair, "it is prudent to make sure that these tools are rounded up and properly disposed." Envirocare typically handles radioactive wastes that are not considered an immediate health threat but rather a danger to those exposed over long periods of time. The company has a 640-acre hazardous and radioactive waste landfill about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City. By next week, the division plans to post photos of the types of tools in question on its Web page at http://www.deq.state.ut.us/EQRAD/drc_hmpg.htm. It also is offering to assess tools people are concerned about at the Tooele County Health Department, 151 N. Main St., Tooele, beginning Wednesday. The Tooele County Health Department and Envirocare did not return phone calls about the case. The investigation was continuing. Investigators want to know exactly how many tools are missing from Envirocare and whether more than one person was involved in the thefts. They also are seeking the whereabouts of the suspect. © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune ***************************************************************** 31 Mike O'Callaghan: Mayor was on target Las Vegas SUN Today: February 21, 2002 at 8:38:36 PST Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor. LAS VEGAS MAYOR Oscar Goodman hurt the feelings of the gambling fraternity last week when accusing the owners and operators of remaining silent about the battle against nuke waste. It didn't take the gamblers long to have their spokesman Bill Bible respond. Bible, a highly respected government leader for several years, came back strong by calling the mayor a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to fighting nuke waste being dumped on Nevada. He claims that gamblers have been deeply involved in the fight. That sure was news to me and thousands of other Nevadans worried about the environment in which we are raising new generations of Nevadans. Read these excerpts from this column: "So why the silence on the part of the state's largest and most important industry. Ignorance? No guts? A behind-the-door agreement not to say anything to disturb the pro-nuke wasters they dine with and entertain? Don't ask me, every answer I come up with isn't adequate or doesn't make good sense. "Maybe it's just one more case of the gaming industry being more interested in what affects it tomorrow and next year rather than down the road five or 10 years from now. Those big hotels are built to last well into the middle of the next century. Most of the owners and operators won't be around that long but the nuke waste problem aimed at them will be here for 10,000 years at least. Only the gaming industry leaders today can be effective and help prevent the damage the nuke waste can do to their hotel occupancy and stockholders earnings come the year 2000. "So why the silence? A Tennessee study has already pointed to the problem that nuclear waste would create for that state's tourist economy. A similar study concerning Nevada will soon be released that doesn't bode well for the tourist industry of this state. Neither study should be necessary to convince the gamblers that it isn't good for the people of Nevada or their industry. "We know that some gaming leaders had a meeting with the gold miners and agreed to not become openly involved in pushing additional taxes down their gold-lined throats. When a key casino owner openly supported more taxes for the foreign gold mine owners operating in Nevada he was chastised indirectly, but publicly, by a casino owner of equal importance and stature. "My question is whether or not the casino industry and its lobbyists have a hidden agenda and agreement with the nuke waste people that demands their silence? It's difficult for me to comprehend such a shortsighted approach to a major problem hovering over Nevadans and their major industry. "If there is a conspiracy of silence, then it's time for a few of the big leaders to break the silence and for their lobbyists to let the Nevada Legislature know that nothing short of a loud NO can be tolerated in any bill concerning the nuke waste dump headed for this area. Such a bill has already been put in the hopper by Assemblywoman Myrna Williams. "The gaming executives of Nevada may think that their past and present problems are big and could hurt the greatest of all tourist destinations and profit-making hotel-casinos. They ain't seen nothin' until there is an accident when nuke waste is being transported by the tons into the Silver State. Yes, and any good gambler will wager that several accidents are bound to happen with hundreds of trucks and train cars rolling into the state with the deadly material. "So why the silence? Ignorance? No guts? An industry conspiracy? The people of Nevada deserve an honest answer and some positive action from the casino owners and operators!" That was my Where I Stand published Sunday, Feb. 12, 1989. It was greeted with a few nasty phone calls but mostly with deadly silence from the gamblers. Two years later they passed a toothless resolution about not wanting the waste. I have seen very little positive action on the part of the gamblers as a group to make any major changes in what I wrote 13 years ago. Even what it has done lately may be too little, too late. If there is any Johnny-come-lately on the nuke waste issue it's the gamblers and not Mayor Goodman. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 32 Letter: Nuclear waste must be stopped in its tracks Las Vegas SUN Today: February 21, 2002 at 8:38:36 PST If you are one of the cynics who said a Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository was a done deal, I have to admit you were right. It is inconceivable to activists, who attended meetings, to believe that Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and now President Bush would in a brazen political move agree to move toward licensing for the repository. Sound science has nothing to do with this decision! They both know that there are over 290 gaps in the scientific data. They know that Yucca Mountain is in a seismic zone with a volcanic history. They know that there are corrosive minerals and micro-organisms that will corrode titanium and stainless steel waste packages. They know that aside from radiation risks, there are environmental risks that are now not being investigated. They know that there has not been a transportation EIS conducted by the DOE which, after Sept. 11, must consider terrorism. They both know that retrievability of the waste packages cannot be guaranteed by a robotic system. President Bush should certainly know that after Sept. 11, when the federal government failed us, that creating over a thousand targets yearly for three decades is against homeland defense, anti-terrorism, sound strategic planning and good common sense. The citizens in the 31 states that have nuclear reactors must be made to realize that even without the waste there will be 103 terrorist targets, the plants themselves. Then they will still need cooling pools and dry cask storage for future waste! Yucca Mountain is to America's homeland security and anti-terrorism what Enron is to the financial markets. It is up to you to phone, write, e-mail and fax President Bush, DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham and members of Congress. Our elected officials will be taking legal action. Don't sit back, make your voice heard! FRANK PERNA All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 33 Ridge backs transporting of nuke waste Las Vegas SUN Today: February 21, 2002 at 11:06:14 PST By Erin Neff NEVADA TEST SITE -- Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge disputed a key anti-Yucca Mountain argument Wednesday by saying he believes transporting nuclear waste to a centralized repository is more secure than keeping it in 39 states. Ridge toured the Nevada Test Site at Sen. Harry Reid's invitation to watch terrorism preparedness drills. Reid wants Ridge to make the former atomic test area a national training center to counter terrorism. The main drill took place at the Test Site's Phoenix training facility -- just a helicopter hop over the ridge from Yucca Mountain. And though the scenario involved terrorists taking over a nuclear facility, none of the officials wanted to talk about the state's biggest fight. Reid, D-Nev., deflected a question about transporting nuclear waste by saying he would later lobby Ridge and Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Albaurgh on that point. "Today is not a day for nuclear waste," he said. But Ridge, former governor of nuclear plant-rich Pennsylvania, did say he thought having a centralized nuclear storage facility "was an attractive feature," and downplayed concerns that transporting waste left it more susceptible to terrorists. "For 40 or 50 years, the country has been transferring and transporting nuclear waste," Ridge said during a press conference. "And I think there's a fairly good track record there." In an interview later during his tour Ridge said he did not mean to imply that transporting the waste wasn't "serious business." "One could make an argument that the transportation of waste is a potential target, as remote as that may be to my position as director of Homeland Security," Ridge said. "Just as it is in a stationary setting, it is much more of a concern for the Secretary of Energy." Wednesday's tour for Ridge and Albaurgh was designed to feature the remoteness of the sprawling Test Site as well as its current anti-terrorism work by academic institution partners, scientists and military. "Why would we want to integrate talk of Yucca into this facility here?" Gov. Kenny Guinn asked in an interview. "We're working to get some expansion dollars for the Test Site. "What we're talking about here today is national security, homeland security. No matter what happens with our fight against Yucca Mountain, we will still need this (facility) today." But Nevada officials have made Yucca Mountain an issue of national security. Reid last Friday said by designating Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository, President Bush had "dropped the equivalent of 100,000 dirty bombs on America." Pointing out that 100,000 nuclear shipments to Yucca Mountain would cross 43 states, Reid said terrorists had ample opportunity to strike. "The President has created 100,000 targets of opportunity for terrorists who have proven their capability of hitting targets far less vulnerable than a truck on an open highway," Reid said then. Ridge said Wednesday he wasn't as concerned with the shipments as he was the storage of waste in pools near nuclear reactors throughout the country. "The notion of having a single site admittedly speaks to homeland security," Ridge said. And although Guinn said Wednesday's events were solely about the Test Site, he did point out Yucca Mountain to Ridge during their helicopter ride. Media and National Nuclear Security Administration staff were flown by Nevada Air National Guard to the Test Site in two hulking Chinook helicopters. Ridge -- accompanied by Guinn, Reid, Albaurgh, Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, and Test Site operator retired Gen. John Gordon -- flew in four smaller choppers for a different aerial tour. That delegation held a closed briefing on the Nevada Test Site's counter terrorism efforts. Reid and others hope to get $16 million to expand the facilities and create a national center for combatting terrorism. The Test Site -- a restricted area larger than Rhode Island -- was the site of 928 nuclear tests through 1992. Since then it has become an operational outdoor laboratory with tunnel complexes, remote facilities to release hazardous chemicals and train military, National Guardsmen and state and local police, firefighters and other "first responders." Just days after Ridge was named Homeland Security director, Reid invited him to tour the area with a national anti-terrorism facility in mind. And while nobody would publicly admit it Wednesday, the visit was also more than a subtle reminder about Yucca Mountain. Members of the national media, including CNN, NBC and The New York Times, were along for the trip -- not just for access to Ridge and talk of a training center. One reporter on the 125-decibel Chinook scribbled a question for a DOE representative during the flight: "Where's Yucca Mountain?" NBC reporter Chip Reid -- who aired a report from Yucca Mountain after Bush's decision Friday -- was back for another trip through the rugged desert with a field producer asking if there was more opportunity to get aerial shots of the ridge 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. During a demonstration of "truck-stopping technology" aimed at dragging hijacked tractor-trailers to a safe halt, a spokesman for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory -- which developed the device -- also dropped a Yucca Mountain reference. "The tractors we're using here as the prototype is an SST, which was retired from use hauling nuclear waste," Livermore spokesman David Schwoegler said. "You could equip the device on those shipments today." Harry Reid also smiled a bit when a reporter mentioned Yucca Mountain during Wednesday's press conference. But he immediately whispered something to Ridge and then responded with the "today is not a day for nuclear waste" line. It may not have been an obvious day, but Reid's smile seemed to suggest the subtlety was good enough. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 34 Baltimora: Hot Load Baltimore City Paper: Hot Load (February 20 - February 26, 2002) Atomic Energy: Gabriela Bulisova and Kevin Kamps protest federal plans that could route nuclear-waste-bearing trains through Baltimore's Howard Street tunnel. Photo By Christopher Myers Baltimore Tunnel Fire, Aberdeen Missile Test Targets in National Nuke-Transport Debate By Van Smith Nevada's Yucca Mountain may be nearly a continent away, but the Baltimore area has become ground zero in the debate over plans to store the nation's 70,000 tons of nuclear waste there, under a decades-in-the-making plan formally approved by President Bush on Feb. 15. In the days leading up to and following Bush's OK, which sends the issue to Congress for final approval, two close-to-home events--a 1998 missile-strike test on a nuclear-waste container at Aberdeen Proving Ground and last summer's chemical fire in the Howard Street tunnel--have been cited by Nevada officials and other opponents of the Yucca Mountain plan. Critics maintain that both events offer cautionary evidence about what might happen to the casks used to transport radioactive waste in the event of a terrorist attack or severe accident. After the July 2001 tunnel fire, the state of Nevada hired the consulting firm Radioactive Waste Management Associates (RWMA) to study the potential impact had the Baltimore blaze involved nuclear-waste containers. Some Yucca Mountain blueprints include transporting such cargo through the Howard Street tunnel from the Calvert Cliffs nuclear-power plant in Southern Maryland or other Southeastern nuclear facilities ( [http://www.citypaper.com/2001-09-12/feature.html] ). The nuclear-power industry and supporters of the Yucca plan have maintained that a fire of the heat and duration necessary to rupture one of the casts was virtually impossible. But RWMA concluded that the Baltimore fire would have caused a cask to break, exposing tens of thousands of people to acute radiation and necessitating billions of dollars in cleanup costs. (The full report can be read at [http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/news2001/nn11459.htm] ) The test at Aberdeen, meanwhile, points up dangers associated with potential terrorist attacks, another risk downplayed by the nuclear industry, despite the events of recent months. While acknowledging that some weapon systems can puncture the waste containers, the industry argues that any radioactive release would be small and easily contained. Not so, contend Yucca critics, who claim a newly released videotape of the 1998 test proves otherwise. The tape suddenly became a hot property in the Yucca debate when word circulated among plan opponents early this month that U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) had a copy and was considering releasing it to the media. That hasn't yet happened, but a copy of the video was obtained by City Paper from Thomas Kirch, president of International Fuel Containers Inc. (IFC), the New York-based marketing arm for a German firm that makes nuclear-waste containers. IFC used Aberdeen Proving Ground's facilities and personnel to test the strength of the German Castor cask, a container used around the world to store and ship spent nuclear fuel. The tape shows a TOW anti-tank missile blowing a hole through the cast-iron wall of a Castor cask. When a second round is fired into the cask--this time protected by IFC's patented "flak jacket" material--the video shows little damage to the cask wall, though the protective material is pulverized. "The most staggering implication of the IFC test is that, if [the missile] drilled that softball-sized hole through 15 inches of cast iron, it certainly wouldn't have any trouble penetrating a truck cask," the smaller, steel kind used to ship waste on highways, says Robert Halstead, transportation adviser to Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects. A self-proclaimed "green nuclear advocate" whose studies of nuclear-waste transportation issues have focused largely on the risks of terrorist attacks on casks, Halstead says he's "dumbfounded" at the sudden emergence of the test video, which he contends is proof that widely available anti-tank weaponry can go through a cask wall and disperse its radioactive contents--a point that has been debated for years and has gained relevance since Sept. 11. The Castor has been considered "the premier storage and transport cask in the world since the 1980s," Halstead says, meaning that other containers in use for nuclear transport could be even more vulnerable to missile attacks. "The test proved exactly what the state of Nevada had feared," he says, "that these casks are highly vulnerable to state-of-the-art weapons." Kirch contends that the missile piercing the cask does not prove that the container is insecure. "[I]t can be easily repaired, right on the spot, in a very short period of time, using a lead plug," he says. "And the amount of leakage or contamination would be very, very controlled and very limited." ("I'd like to meet one of these people who is going to volunteer to walk up to the hole in the cask like the Dutch boy walking up to plug up the hole in the dam," Halstead counters. "Remember, they are going to be entering a radiation zone.") Kirch, a self-described proponent of nuclear nonproliferation, has a long history as a player in the atomic-power arena. Since the mid-1990s, he has been a principal in a firm called U.S. Fuel &Security Inc., along with U.S. Navy Adm. Daniel Murphy (retired) and Alex Copson, a former member of the rock group Iron Butterfly. Kirch says the company aims to end reprocessing of spent fuel from nuclear-power plants into weapons-grade plutonium by controlling the world's supply of spent fuel and securing it at a centralized location, an idea with some support in the nation's nuclear, defense, and intelligence communities. An initial proposal to store the fuel on an oceanic atoll was rejected; Kirch says U.S. Fuel &Security and allied groups--including the Nonproliferation Trust, a Washington based company whose leaders include Murphy and former FBI and CIA chief William Webster--have set their sights on a site in Russia. As to IFC's involvement in the Yucca Mountain controversy, Kirch asserts that his video is not relevant to the debate of nuclear transport and is being misrepresented for "political purposes" by Nevada officials seeking to derail the Yucca plan. "The test was performed purely to demonstrate the safety of the metal cask and the increased security of using a ballistic protection system," he says. The cask that was tested, he notes, is not licensed in the United States for transportation of nuclear waste, but only for storage. However, the 41/2-minute Aberdeen video, produced in infomercial style, proclaims that the test shows the Castor casks can safely "both store and transport spent nuclear fuel." Officials at the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group that has downplayed the risks of nuclear transport in trucks and trains and criticized the RWMA report, did not return phone calls seeking comment on that study or the Aberdeen video. Halstead contends the nuclear industry is hurting itself by questioning such indications of risk: "They should be saying, 'Yep, once in a great while there is an accident that is really so bad that it might threaten these casks,' and then setting to work managing those risks." He suggests rerouting shipments to avoid places where accidents are more frequent; running track-inspection cars ahead of trains to make sure there's nothing to cause a derailment; and requiring that nuclear waste be shipped only on "dedicated" trains carrying no other cargo. (The fire under Howard Street was prolonged by the presence of wood products among the train's cargo. The industry maintains that it voluntarily uses only dedicated trains for nuclear shipments.) "There are very straightforward ways to manage risk once you acknowledge that the risk exists," Halstead says. "But if you are determined, as the nuclear industry is, to defy reality and say that there are no risks, you are asking for Exxon Valdez--and it will happen to them." © 2002 Baltimore City Paper ***************************************************************** 35 Utah activists may aid anti-Yucca fight Dumping the dump [http://www.lasvegasweekly.com] [ border=] Date: February 21, 2002 | Local time: 9:41PM | By Damon Hodge ( [damon.hodge@vegas.com] ) Controversy centering on an obscure, poverty-stricken tribe whose ancestral homeland bisects the Nevada-Utah border could help defeat the Yucca Mountain Project. The tribe is called the Goshutes, who at their peak numbered 20,000 and whose land stretched hundreds of miles from Utah's Wasatch Range westward into Nevada. Today the Utah tribe is poor, small (427 members) and survives by leasing land to non-Indian interests. Which leads to Utah's nuclear dilemma: Hoping to boost the economy, tribal chief Leon Bear. He agreed to lease 820 acres of Goshute land to build a temporary dump for some 4,000 tons of radioactive waste. By comparison, Yucca would hold 77,000 tons. While the move has riled tribal members and sparked federal litigation challenging the deal, it's also made Utah an ally in Nevada's fight against Yucca Mountain. The way Steve Erickson sees it, Nevada holds Utah's fate: If Yucca's dumped, the Skull Valley site could follow. "Nevada and Utah drove the MX missile out 20 years ago and we can drive out nuclear waste," says Erickson, director of the Salt Lake City-based anti-nuke group, Citizens Education Project. "Yucca Mountain is not in the best interest of Nevada, Utah or the nation," he says. "There are far too many unanswered questions about the suitability of both sites and far too many risks associated with nuclear waste transport." The temporary repository calls for thousands of waste-containing metal casks to be stored on concrete slabs, a project Erickson describes as "a paved parking lot full of nuclear waste ... a terrorists' field day." Anti-nuke activists also doubt that the $3 billion dry-cask storage facility in Tooele County, Utah, will change the area's economy, as its backers assert. Attempts to reach Bear and other tribal members were unsuccessful. But Sue Martin, a spokeswoman for project developer Private Fuel Storage, admitted that of the 60 full-time jobs created at Skull Valley, many would be outside the skill of most tribal members. Martin says Goshute leaders knew about the project's scope and took part in feasibility studies, touring nuclear facilities and visiting overseas repositories. On the issue of safety, Martin says the Skull Valley dump would have to pass federal muster, an evaluation process that would have to begin before licensing. The lease agreement calls for a 40-year commitment--20 years with an option to renew for another 20. "Utahns would the have opportunity to contest the licensure; the burden of proof is really on us," Martin says. And Martin disputes anti-nuke activists' claims that the Utah site would become a permanent repository if Yucca's denied. If not Yucca, the waste must go somewhere. "If Yucca's not approved, I am confident they will fulfill the responsibility within the life of the facility." Erickson doesn't share Martin's faith. Neither does a study released in August by six Nevada and Utah citizens' groups that raises safety and licensing questions about the project. Erickson is hoping Utah lawmakers join the anti-Yucca fray as anti-nuke activists convince them that the state's fate rests with Yucca Mountain. Meantime, Ian Zabarte of the Western Shoshone tribe laments the Goshutes' plight--how poverty forced desperation. Zabarte understands the tribe's position, since Yucca Mountain is proposed for Shoshone land. But in the Shoshone's case, they are vehemently opposed to Yucca Mountain. "Conditions of duress often force tribes to grasp at what's available," says Zabarte, secretary of state for the Western Shoshone National Council. "The Goshutes are poor and have health problems and a repository could bring more health problems. It could also bring money and tribal members could move away. Either way, tribal genocide is possible." In related news, last week the Clark County Commission accepted $1.56 million in federal funds to study Yucca Mountain. The funding comes from the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which mandates that counties affected by the project receive money for impact assessments. All contents © 1998 - 2002 Radiant City Publications, LLC ***************************************************************** 36 Bunning seeking Paducah, Ohio conversion plants The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Thursday, February 21, 2002 He said he wants both plants because if Paducah got the only conversion facility, then Portsmouth might get the only centrifuge upgrade as a trade-off. By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650 U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning said he will keep pushing for facilities here and in Ohio to convert uranium hexafluoride waste because the plan is efficient and could otherwise mean the loss of key technology to help preserve the Paducah uranium enrichment plant. Bunning, R-Southgate, said each of the conversion plants would mean 150 to 200 jobs for 20 to 25 years. He said having facilities at Paducah and its closed sister plant near Portsmouth, Ohio, would hasten cleanup of depleted uranium hexafluoride, or UF6, rather than having to transfer thousands of waste cylinders from one place to another. There also is the political concern that if Paducah gets the only conversion plant, the new centrifuge technology will be built at Portsmouth as a trade-off, he said. "If you're concerned about not receiving new technology, you have reason to be concerned," he told regional economic development leaders Wednesday during a visit to Paducah. "Paducah needs to receive the new technology in order to remain competitive, and I have talked to USEC (the plant operator) about that." Bunning spoke at a finance committee meeting of the Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization, known as PACRO, and met privately with managers and union leaders at the Paducah plant. Gas centrifuge is being studied to gradually replace outdated gaseous diffusion used at Paducah's 1,500-employee enrichment plant. Bunning said centrifuge technology will employ 300 to 400 people. Bunning said the Department of Energy has not decided where and how many centrifuge facilities to build. "They're going to have to make a decision on that very shortly, I would say by the end of this year. It all depends, in my opinion, on how USEC negotiates with the Russians on this exclusive contract for Russian uranium, and how viable USEC maintains itself." He said he met recently with Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. USEC wants lower prices for the uranium it imports from dismantled Russian nuclear warheads. The cheaper prices are essential to keep the Paducah plant open by offsetting the plant's higher-priced UF6, the company says. The Energy Department reportedly is ready to offer USEC help to keep open the Paducah plant, the nation's only enrichment facility, if USEC closes the Russian deal. In return, USEC would promise to run the plant at specified production levels, or turn it back over to the government if it failed. "USEC as of last week was about as close to closing the deal with the Russians as they had been anytime," Bunning said. "DOE was pushing them to close so they can work out a final agreement with USEC on the enrichment plant here." Bunning said union officials expressed concern about job losses because of the Russian deal. "You may have heard rumors that there are going to be layoffs at the Paducah plant," he said. "I know of no plans presently, but that doesn't mean there might not be." Congress is in a "continuing fight" with the Energy Department and the Office of Management and Budget over how many conversion plants to build and where, he said. After repeated delays the past four years, DOE was ready to award a contract in January, but abruptly asked the three finalists to extend their bids through the end of February. Bunning said he doubts a contract will be awarded by Feb. 28, adding, "I tend to think that we're getting the straight answers from OMB and we're not getting the straight answers from DOE." Despite resistance from both agencies, he said, 1998 federal law is clear that conversion facilities be built at Paducah and Portsmouth, and be operational by 2007. Bunning said he told Abraham he would hold the Energy Department's "feet to the fire" until the work gets done. Although the DOE budget calls for cutting Paducah plant cleanup money by about $20 million for fiscal year 2003, starting Oct. 1, Bunning said he and the rest of the Kentucky delegation will oppose that. He said the proposed cut is roughly the same as during the last year of the Clinton administration, but Congress raised it to about $90 million. "We'll get it back up to where we're at least on what we consider a 10- to 12-year plan to do it," he said. "If we drop below $100 million (annually), were going to be stretching that cleanup out there 15 or 20 years and that's unsatisfactory." ***************************************************************** 37 Bush, China discuss nuclear technology Thursday, February 21, 2002 The Detroit News. By Ron Fournier / Associated Press BEIJING -- On the final leg of his Asian trip, President Bush said today that China is lending "steady and strong support" to the U.S.-led war on terrorism as it worked toward striking a deal with the United States on controlling the flow of nuclear technology. High on Bush's agenda with Chinese President Jiang Zemin is preventing the sale of missile and nuclear technology.    Jiang greeted Bush at the Great Hall before the two went behind closed doors for talks. Under the potential nuclear deal, China would meet U.S. demands to publish a list of items prohibited from export and enforce the ban if the administration agreed to lift sanctions barring U.S. companies from launching satellites on Chinese rockets. Despite the countries' alliance against terrorism, there are likely to be sticking points. Bush wants to encourage Jiang to respect religious freedoms and free Catholic bishops. Bush and Jiang also are at odds over U.S. missile defense plans, Taiwan and Bush's claim that North Korea, Iran and Iraq form "an axis of evil." Bush was to invite Jiang to visit Washington next fall. ***************************************************************** 38 Pantex may see more work Amarillo Globe-News: Local Web posted Thursday, February 21, 2002 By JIM McBRIDE jmcbride@amarillonet.com And The Washington Post WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is studying the development of a new generation of nuclear weapons and strategic delivery systems at the same time it has announced its intention to sharply reduce the number of operationally deployed U.S. nuclear warheads. An environmental group that studies nuclear weapons issues also says the Energy Department plans to increase the Pantex Plant's workload under government proposals to modernize weapons in the existing nuclear stockpile. The Nuclear Weapons Council, made up of officials from the Defense and Energy departments, has ordered a three-year study into developing a nuclear-tipped, earth-penetrating weapon that can destroy hardened underground targets. The administration has also established "advanced warhead concept teams" at the nation's three nuclear weapons laboratories to work on new warheads or warhead modifications. Both initiatives were proposed in a year-long study, the Nuclear Posture Review, conducted under the direction of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and approved by President Bush last month. But they were only made public last week in congressional testimony by retired Gen. John Gordon, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages the country's nuclear weapons complex. The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group that closely studies U.S. nuclear weapons programs, issued a report that says Pantex's annual workload could jump from 350 warheads per year to 600, but government officials cautioned reliance on the NRCD's estimates. The NRDC's report criticizes the Bush administration's nuclear planing. "Not since the resurgence of the Cold War in Ronald Reagan's first term has there been such an emphasis on nuclear weapons in U.S. defense strategy," the NRDC's report says. Anson Franklin, an Energy Department spokesman, said the DOE does not discuss numbers of weapons that are dismantled or assembled at Pantex. "We wouldn't comment on any numbers about capacity because that is just an area we do not discuss for security reasons," he said. "The Nuclear Posture Review validates the importance of what Pantex does for the stockpile stewardship program. It is clear to us and clear from the NPR that Pantex will continue to be a very important facility for our work for years to come." U.S. Rep Mac Thornberry, R-Amarillo, said Pantex is likely to take on more weapons work during the next several years. "I can't talk about numbers either obviously, but I think just as a matter of common sense Pantex is going to have more work in the future. Part of that is because the weapons are aging and the normal modernization to keep them safe and secure and functioning is going to take more work," he said. Christopher Paine, a senior researcher for the NRDC, said Pantex's workload will focus more on assembling modernized warheads than dismantlement of retired nuclear weapons. "There is only one warhead scheduled for dismantlement during the whole period" covered by the Nuclear Posture Review, Paine said. Paine said Pantex's plutonium storage role also will continue. "As far as we can tell from our research, they are not throwing anything away. I think the outlook is for more pit storage at Pantex," he said. Another NNSA spokesman said, however, that the DOE does not plan to expand Pantex's plutonium storage. Gen. Gordon, the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, testified last week that various types of existing warheads will be modernized at Pantex and returned to the stockpile. "The plan calls for all eight warhead types in the enduring stockpile to be refurbished over the next 25 years. Near-term efforts will focus on four warheads:> the W-87 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, the-B-61-7/11 (gravity bomb); the W-80 Air-Launched Cruise Missile; Advanced Cruise Missile and Tomahawk Land Attack Missile and the W-76 - Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile." Gordon testified that the Pantex's capacity is expected to expand. "Planned renovations of existing facilities will expand capacity sufficient to meet the anticipated NPR workload and include a small reserve that would be available to fix unanticipated problems in the stockpile, respond to new warhead production requirements, or handle a potentially increased dismantlement workload without disrupting planned refurbishments," according to Gordon's testimony. At the time the Nuclear Posture Review was released, officials focused attention on its proposals for large-scale reductions in the number of nuclear warheads. Bush announced in November that the United States will reduce the number of deployed warheads from its current level of 6,000 to between 1,700 and 2,200 within 10 years. But instead of destroying most of the warheads, the administration plans to put them in storage where they could be reactivated. © 1996-2002 Amarillo Globe-News ***************************************************************** 39 Don't slow down Hanford cleanup Hanford Nuclear Reservation is a major threat to the environmental quality of the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest. The Oregonian Letters 02/21/02 Many citizens of the Northwest have their daily lives influenced by the waters of the Columbia, whether they live on its banks, use it for recreation or use its waters for irrigation. The Columbia is also an important symbol of our region's way of life. The waste and contamination that Hanford contain are a threat to both our health and our river. The Bush administration is considering reducing the budget available for Hanford's cleanup efforts. This reduction must not happen. Now is the time for the federal government to fully commit to the cleanup process before any more damage is done. FAWN McNEELY Hanford Information Network member Salem © 2002 OregonLive.com. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 40 ORNL working on high-tech soldier Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 10:51 a.m. on Thursday, February 21, 2002 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff The U.S. Army and a team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory are working together on a specific goal: Developing a high-tech soldier with 20 times the capability of today's warrior and to have that soldier commissioned by about 2010. "With the Objective Force Warrior, the Army wants to stretch the bounds of technology but still have something that is feasible and can be built," said George Fisher of ORNL's National Security Directorate. "The Army wants an independent look into the future to see what emerging technologies and innovative combinations of these concepts might allow." Concept design teams were composed of biologists, military experts and others with diverse backgrounds. The teams met late last year and submitted a proposed plan of attack to the Army in December. Technologies that would make this new warrior possible include better communications devices, advanced weapons and protective equipment, among other things. ORNL officials indicated that fatigues and the flak jacket of the past, for example, would be replaced by a system designed to protect a soldier and provide hemorrhage control in case a bullet penetrates. The helmet of the future warrior might be a sealed unit that contains vision enhancements and a laser. Although many of the technologies to make the "Objective Force Warrior" a reality are maturing today, several others are being considered "breakthrough technologies" because they have yet to be developed. One of these technologies is an exoskeleton that would augment the strength of a soldier and enhance mobility, speed, endurance, range and load-carrying capabilities. Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 220-5533 or pparson@oakridger.com [pparson@oakridger.com] . All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 41 Proposal in the works for transfer of DOE land Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 11:46 a.m. on Thursday, February 21, 2002 by R. Cathey Daniels and Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff A proposal has been submitted to the Department of Energy that calls for the transfer of around 500 acres of federal land in the 1,000-acre Horizon Center industrial park to the city of Oak Ridge. The transfer, depending on one's perspective, could be a boon for economic development or a bane to the environment. Mayor David Bradshaw says it can be a boon to both. "Unless there are stumbling blocks, along the way we can accomplish a transfer which can protect the environmentally sensitive areas of ED-1; which would allow ED-1 parcels to be sold fee simple, and which would be done as part of the relatively new transfer rule process," said Bradshaw. Fee simple means absolute title to the property would be transferred. Bradshaw said he met recently with DOE's Oak Ridge Operations Manager Leah Dever and other senior DOE managers, as well as Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee President Lawrence Young and a representative from Congressman Zach Wamp's office, and that he thought the meeting yielded "favorable results." "They responded favorably to us using this transfer rule, and they encouraged us to do that," said Bradshaw. DOE opted to remain tight-lipped on the issue when questioned. Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for the federal agency's Oak Ridge office, confirmed that DOE managers had met with representatives from the city and CROET on the ED-1 issue. However, despite repeated requests, The Oak Ridger was not allowed to interview those managers. DOE instituted what it calls the "Transfer Rule" in February 2000 to ease the transfer of federal land to energy communities to help offset the "negative impacts of downsizing of federal facilities," according to Jim Cayce, senior real estate officer at DOE headquarters. Only a handful of communities nationwide have attempted to use the rule, which allows for transfer of land to the private sector for less than fair market value. The transfer rule has drawn fire from the Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation, which on its Web site lists the rule under the heading "Accelerating Threats to DOE lands." Land transfer without adequate environmental review has long been a concern of the organization, and that is one reason Dever last August formed the Land Use Planning Focus Group currently trying to sort through the issue. The transfer of this parcel would facilitate a joint venture now being considered by the city's Industrial Development Board and CROET to build a speculative building in Horizon Center. Tax incentives could be offered to industries to locate there, if the land is owned by the Industrial Development Board. CROET currently leases the property from DOE. CROET wrote the proposal for the transfer and submitted it to DOE Wednesday evening. Young said the proposal asks DOE to consider transferring the land at less than fair market value, which actually "goes down to no cost." "We don't specify a dollar amount," Young said. Both Bradshaw and Young said that they hope the price is "close to zero." "We obviously want it as close to zero as possible," said Bradshaw. "We certainly think that makes sense because of the efforts we're undertaking to diversify the economy at ED-1, but that's up for negotiation." DOE would have 90 days after receipt of the proposal to notify CROET, and most likely the city, of its decision. If the decision is to transfer the land, DOE would then prepare a congressional committee notification that would allow representatives 30 days to comment. Concurrently, Oak Ridge Operations would begin to develop a transfer agreement to be executed directly after the congressional comment period expires. Young said he would like to see the land transferred as soon as possible. "I hope it happens," he said. The Oak Ridge City Council endorsed the process in December when it voted to send a letter to DOE requesting the transfer under the new rule. R. Cathey Daniels and Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 482-1021 or oakridge@oakridger.com [oakridge@oakridger.com] . All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 42 OR cleanup efforts are topic of meetings Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 11:46 a.m. on Thursday, February 21, 2002 by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff The Department of Energy has apparently started looking at ways to implement elements of the recent "top to bottom" review of its Environmental Management program into Oak Ridge's cleanup efforts. Officials from DOE headquarters are in town this week discussing plans with representatives from the federal agency's Oak Ridge Operations office and some of its contractors, in addition to regulators from the state of Tennessee and the Environmental Protection Agency. "As part of this process, we are reviewing the high priority actions necessary to allow us to move forward Š," said Steven Wyatt, chief spokesman for the Oak Ridge Operations office. "The discussions include looking at various approaches from both a technical and business basis," said Wyatt, who indicated that similar meetings are underway at other DOE sites around the country. "This is only the beginning -- more discussions will be held in the future." Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs Co., said he could not comment on the company's participation, if any, in the discussions. Bechtel Jacobs serves as DOE's environmental manager in Oak Ridge. Released earlier this month, DOE's "top to bottom" review of its complex-wide Environmental Management program was highly critical. "The EM (Environmental Management) mission cannot be accomplished by continuing 'business as usual,'" the review stated. "There must be major changes in all elements of the EM program." Oak Ridge did not escape criticism. Local efforts were chided for focusing on the "easy work," not on higher-risk activities. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham directed that the review be undertaken last year because he felt the program was not adequate. To support his decision, Abraham has consistently quoted outdated figures pertaining to the program: 70 years to complete and at a cost of $300 billion. As a result of the review, Abraham has launched a new expedited cleanup program with a current budget of $800 million. This new plan will be a companion to DOE's existing cleanup program. Paul Parson can be contacted at (865) 220-5533 or [pparson@oakridger.com] . All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 43 PACRO, L.A. firm to bid on flourine job - The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Thursday, February 21, 2002 The reuse group has worked out a deal with ToxCo to remove 70 flourine cells. The company still must present its bid to DOE. By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650 The Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization and a California firm will bid on fluorine removal work expected to save $2.5 million in federal cleanup costs at the Paducah uranium enrichment plant. PACRO's executive committee approved a deal Wednesday to sell $75,000 in brokerage services to help Los Angeles-based ToxCo remove 70 discarded fluorine cells from the plant for sale or use elsewhere. ToxCo will have to bid on the work with the Department of Energy, and if successful, would buy the cells from DOE for a price taking into account ToxCo’s considerable expense of cleaning up the cells. While contributing to the cleanup, "It also shows we're meeting our goals so we can get some additional money to use, whether it be for the regional industrial park or help our other programs to diversify economic development," said PACRO Chairman Ric Ladt. PACRO, which receives Department of Energy funding to help offset plant job losses, is seeking $10 million in federal money to help develop the regional park in north Graves County. Although Congress has not approved the funding, U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning on Wednesday pledged his support, joining other members of the Kentucky congressional delegation who have given their backing. "I wouldn't promise you anything," Bunning said. "All I can tell you is we can put the request in and push for it." As an option, PACRO Director John Anderson said, the group is seeking part of $7 million set aside by DOE's Office of Worker and Community Transition for projects such as the park. The office funds community reuse organizations nationwide. The $10 million is needed over three years toward buying and developing 1,500 acres, said Bill Beasley, general manager of the park authority. He said 1,100 acres are already under three-year options with landowners or oral agreements for options. The authority also has asked the state legislature for $10 million. PACRO had wanted ToxCo to build a job-creating fluorine conversion facility near the plant, but company officials said too few of the cells were useful to justify the extensive cost. David Eaker, ToxCo vice president of metals, said the cells would be decontaminated at a company facility in Tennessee before going to Ozark Fluorine Specialties, a ToxCo subsidiary in Tulsa, Okla. PACRO also has been negotiating with a Canadian firm, Chemical Vapor Deposition Manufacturing, about recycling some of the plant's 9,700 tons of contaminated scrap metal. PACRO wants help from the Kentucky delegation to secure a meeting with Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to discuss lifting a ban on the sale of radioactive scrap metal at all DOE plants because of safety concerns. The reuse group is working with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on a process to clean up the metal to make it safe for commercial use. "If we can do that successfully, then we can sell off those assets and we'd have an awful fast cleanup at Paducah," Bunning said. "It's my gut feeling that the moratorium for doing that is going to come off in this administration. It might be very shortly." ***************************************************************** 44 UN nuclear watchdog to help rid Africa of tsetse fly (nuke'm) AUSTRIA: February 21, 2002 VIENNA - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said this week it would use nuclear technology to help rid Africa of the deadly tsetse fly. Half a million people in sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to have been infected with sleeping sickness by the tsetse fly and 80 percent of them will likely die, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Annual economic losses are put at $4.5 billion. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement the tsetse fly, which carries the parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in animals, was killing three million livestock animals every year. "The impact of the fly is difficult to exaggerate," said John Kabayo, regional coordinator for the Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC), inaugurated by the Organisation of African Unity. "It's no accident that the concentration of much of the world's most acute poverty is in regions of sub-Saharan Africa infested with it," he said. The WHO estimates that in some parts of the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa, sleeping sickness is killing more people than any other communicable disease, including HIV/AIDS. But Kabayo said there was hope in combating the epidemic, which began in the mid 1970s. Recently, the IAEA helped Zanzibar to rid itself of the tsetse by using a combination of conventional pesticides and nuclear technology. STERILE MALES The process is simple. Tsetse flies are bred in special centres and the males are exposed to a short burst of radiation, rendering them sterile. After pesticides have sharply reduced the population, the sterilised males are released in large numbers into the breeding population, heavily outnumbering fertile males in the fight to mate. Over time, the tsetse population falls to zero. "You do most of the work with chemicals, which takes months to achieve, and then you hit it with the sterilised insects to bring that 95 percent eradication to 100 percent," IAEA entomologist Arnold Dyck told Reuters. PATTEC has already begun working with governments to implement the IAEA's two-step process of wiping out the fly in Botswana, Mali and Ethiopia. The region-by-region process has to fight constantly against the threat of re-infestation of tsetse-free areas. "We're looking at decades before we've eradicated the fly from all of Africa," said Dyck. The economic benefits of the programme are clear. PATTEC's Kabayo said that once Zanzibar began its campaign against the tsetse fly, milk production tripled, beef production doubled and the number of farmers who fertilised crops with manure jumped five-fold. Scientists have failed to produce a traditional vaccine for humans or cattle because once in the blood, the trypanosome parasites, which the tsetse fly passes on, can change their outer protein coat into at least 1,000 variants. The disease first attacks the body's immune system and then the central nervous system. However, drugs designed to treat the illness are either highly toxic or so difficult to administer that they become virtually unusable. The disease can be treated if detected early but the WHO said only a fraction of those at risk were being screened. Story by Louis Charbonneau REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ***************************************************************** 45 German power prices ease on more wind power supply GERMANY: February 21, 2002 FRANKFURT - German prompt power this week continued weaker as fresh wind power supply reached the market, more than offsetting the bullish aspect of lower temperatures. Day ahead power closed 0.5 euros lower in baseload at 22.75-23.2 euros and 1.5 euros off on the day in peakload at 27-28 euros. Traders said confirmation of last week's closure of three French nuclear reactors, bringing the number of outages to 10 out of 58, had only scant bullish impact. "The weaker trend is supply-related...it would probably be more pronounced if it was not for the outages," one trader said. "But the French information has been factored in and the (Monday's) Brunsbuettel outage is not considered to be causing serious shortfalls," he added. The 771-megawatt Brunsbuettel reactor in northern Germany was shut for an undisclosed period on Monday due to necessary safety checks and likely repairs. The week ahead price shed 0.25 euros at a closing price of 23.5-24 euros baseload and was down 0.5-0.75 euros in peakload, where it ended at 32-32.25 euros. March prices were a only touch down on the day, with 23.5-23.8 euros indicated for baseload and 32.8-33 euros for peakload at the close. Power for the Year 2003 was also marginally lower at around 23 euros baseload and just under 33 euros peakload. Stormy and rainy or snowy weather was forecast for Germany's coastlines and medium mountain ranges for the coming three days, which apart from producing wind energy should also boost water levels in reservoirs and rivers. 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