***************************************************************** 08/23/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.215 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 US: U.S. Feared a Nuclear Argentina 2 Israel 'puts missiles round reactor' 3 US: Pre-hearing Conference on Ip2 License Amendment Is Canceled 4 KEDO will stall unless NK agrees to IAEA inspection 5 Russian Atomic Energy Ministry hails operation to extract nuclear 6 Russian nuclear scientist disappears 7 AU: Greens press Gallop over nuclear fears 8 US: NRC Develops Threat Advisory and Protective Measures System Base NUCLEAR REACTORS 9 Japan: Dozens of reactor pipes damaged 10 US: NRC Documents about Davis-Besse 11 Yugoslavia sends nuclear fuel from its out-of use reactor to Russia 12 US: March 29th 1979 account of TMI accident 13 Court rejects demand to stop construction of nuclear reactors in 14 US: NRC Amending Rules on How Licensees, Applicants and Members of 15 US: Cooper ready to address its troubles NUCLEAR SAFETY 16 US: DOE holds forum to explain health program 17 US: Residents can still get KI pill* 18 Nuclear Material Secretly Flown From Serbia to Russia for Safety 19 Serbia Sends Nuclear Fuel to Russia 20 US: Uranium Fuel Plants Told to Beef Up Security 21 US: Risky Stash of Uranium Secured 22 Tests show schools near Halifax have elevated levels of uranium in w 23 Report into death sparks questions 24 Nuclear threat remains in Serbia despite shipment of fuel to Russia 25 US: State nuke-pill program ends with a strong showing 26 US: Professor Outlines Benefits Of Low-Dose Radiation 27 US: Federal Long Island Breast Cancer Results Lacking - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 28 US: Group says post-quake inspection of Yucca Mountain too hasty 29 US: Editor's Note: Two peas in a pod 30 Nuclear shipment alarms Belgrade 31 UK: SELLAFIELD FACES BIGGER DISCHARGE RESTRICTIONS... 32 UK: ...AND GROWING OPPOSITION TO REPROCESSING 33 UK: FRESH REASSURANCES OVER HEREDITARY LEUKAEMIA FEARS 34 US: Idaho Nuclear Watchdog Asks DOE to Hold Off on South Carolina Wa 35 NRC Orders Enhanced Security for Enriched Uranium Fuel NUCLEAR WEAPONS 36 US: Fired National Guard officers get settlement 24 years later 37 decommissioned nuclear submarine opens to the public for the US DEPT. OF ENERGY 38 Public debates merit of Hanford trenches 39 DOE briefs Inslee on Hanford matters 40 Fluor Fernald begins layoffs - 41 Accelerated cleanup's collateral damage 42 Will cleanup be sacrificed for acceleration? 43 ORNL groundbreaking 44 DOE Awards $1.4 Million Grant to the Community Reuse Organization 45 DOE Awards $1.1 Million to Paducah Area Community Reuse 46 DOE Cites Hanford Contractors for Price Anderson Safety Violations OTHER NUCLEAR 47 Duratek Federal Services to have new chief Sept. 1 ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 U.S. Feared a Nuclear Argentina latimes.com Policy: Hoping to win the regime's support for a ban in the 1970s, America curbed its opposition to the 'dirty war,' documents show. By PAUL RICHTER TIMES STAFF WRITER August 23 2002 WASHINGTON -- U.S. efforts in the late 1970s to pressure Argentina to end the torture and killing of leftists were restrained in part by an American desire to keep the military junta from developing a nuclear bomb, newly declassified U.S. government papers show. A State Department intelligence report from 1978 said that even while the Carter administration was stepping up pressure on the Argentine regime to curb the "dirty war" against dissidents, U.S. policymakers worried that pushing too hard could jeopardize efforts to convince the junta to join a treaty banning nuclear weapons in Latin America. "Argentina's nuclear status and capabilities have forced the United States to examine carefully the possibility that human rights initiatives could be detrimental to continued U.S. influence in the nuclear area," said the report from the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. "The U.S. human rights approach to Argentina has always been tempered by Argentina's potential as a nuclear proliferator." The report was among 4,677 documents from 1975 to 1984 that were declassified and released by the State Department this week. The information had been requested by the families of the regime's victims, human rights groups and governments that are considering prosecuting Argentine officials they accuse of human rights abuses. Documents disclosed earlier this week suggested a clear difference between the Ford and Carter administrations in their policies on Argentina. The earlier documents indicate that leaders of the military regime believed that the Ford administration, which was in office when the junta took power, was not sincerely concerned about rights abuses. The papers show that the generals repeatedly dismissed expressions of concern from the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, saying they knew from personal visits to Washington that Secretary of State Henry Kissinger did not object to their campaign against the leftists. The military government cracked down on insurgents beginning in March 1976 in an effort to end political violence that had racked the country since 1970. Thousands of Argentine citizens disappeared in the campaign, which the regime viewed as a war on terrorism. When Jimmy Carter took office in 1977, he stepped up pressure on the Argentines to halt what his administration saw as gross human rights abuses. The U.S. cut back on military and economic aid and began collecting information on incidents of kidnapping, torture and killing. By early 1978, Carter administration pressure had brought relations between the two countries to a "nadir," the intelligence report notes. While U.S. officials continued to press on human rights issues, their desire to bring the junta around on the nuclear issue complicated the effort. The report notes that the nuclear arms issue was a major item on the agenda when Carter met Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla in September 1977, and when Secretary of State Cyrus Vance visited Buenos Aires two months later. Though the South American nation does not possess nuclear weapons, analysts say it came close to developing them while the military ruled from 1976 to 1983. The prospect of a nuclear-armed Argentina was especially unnerving to U.S. officials because of the country's rivalry with neighboring Brazil. The report says the Argentines had not sought to use the nuclear weapons issue to win concessions from the U.S. in the human rights debate. Nonetheless, it says, they "undoubtedly appreciate the bargaining power of their nuclear chip," and predicts that the generals "may attempt to inject it directly into human rights discussions." Carlos Osorios, an analyst at the National Security Archive, a nonprofit research organization that gathers declassified national security documents, said the report shows that the proliferation worries were a "very, very important factor" in shaping U.S. policy at the time. F. Allen "Tex" Harris, a retired foreign service officer who was closely involved with the "dirty war" issue while at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires in the late 1970s, said in an interview that the Argentine nuclear program "was a major concern of the Department of State and the defense establishment" at the time. Even so, the biggest issue generating debate among U.S. policymakers, he said, was whether the policy should be shaped by the desire to influence Argentina's human rights practices or whether the U.S. should take "a long-term view that it had to maintain good working relations with the military as the only stable entity in the country." Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times ***************************************************************** 2 Israel 'puts missiles round reactor' [http://www.news.com.au/] 23Aug02 ISRAEL has deployed Patriot anti-missile missiles to protect its nuclear reactor against possible attack by Iraq, a media report has said. Y-Net, the website of the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, today reported that the US-made missiles were deployed near Israel's nuclear research reactor at Dimona in the Negev Desert in the south of the county. Military officials yesterday confirmed the deployment of both Patriot and Hawk missiles in southern Israel, but called the exercises routine. Earlier this month the military deployed a battery of the sophisticated Arrow anti-missile missiles in central Israel. Officials made no reference to Iraq at the time, but many Israelis speculated it was in preparation for a possible attack by Iraq. According to Y-Net, the air force deployed the Patriot battery which included a number of launchers over several hours on Wednesday night. The report said the deployment was part of Israel's defence of its air space. The United States has said it wants to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but has not confirmed it will go to war to do so. In the event of a US attack on Iraq, it is widely believed Iraq would attack Israel. Israel has said that unlike in the 1991 Gulf War, it will not hold back in the face of an attack. During that war, Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles - all armed with conventional warheads - at Israel. Most of them struck the area around Tel Aviv. One hit the area of Dimona in what Iraq said was an attempt to destroy the reactor. Today, there is concern that Saddam may use non-conventional weapons including biological and chemical warheads. Israel says the country is well prepared for an Iraqi attack. In addition to the Patriot anti-missile system, which were used during the Gulf war to intercept incoming Scuds with limited success, Israel and the United States have jointly developed the Arrow system. On Wednesday, Israel's Cabinet also decided to inoculate 15,000 security and rescue officials against smallpox in preparation for what officials said was a remote possibility of an Iraqi attack with non-conventional weapons. In another protective step, potassium iodide pills offering a limited shield against radiation fallout will be issued to all Israelis. This report appears on news.com.au. ***************************************************************** 3 Pre-hearing Conference on Ip2 License Amendment Is Canceled NRC: Press Release Region I - 2002 - 55 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 www.nrc.gov No. I-02-055 August 22, 2002 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov [opa1@nrc.gov] A Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board pre-hearing conference on a license amendment for the Indian Point 2 nuclear power plant has been canceled. The plant, located in Buchanan, NY, is operated by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Entergy had requested a license amendment for a one-time five-year extension of the period within which to conduct the containment integrated leak rate test, which normally would be required every 10 years. Riverkeeper, Inc., had submitted a petition to intervene and a pre-hearing conference was scheduled for next Tuesday, August 27. In accordance with NRC regulations, which allow the NRC staff to issue an amendment prior to, but subject to, the outcome of any associated hearings, the NRC staff issued the amendment on August 5. On August 21, Riverkeeper notified the Board that it was withdrawing its petition for intervention and consenting to the issuance of the amendment without further proceedings. ***************************************************************** 4 KEDO will stall unless NK agrees to IAEA inspection Asahi Shimbun [http://www.asahi.com/] High stakes: The much-vaunted KEDO reactor program for North Korea will stall unless Pyongyang agrees to IAEA inspections. Trouble is, Pyongyang hasn't blinked yet. By TETSUYA HAKODA, The Asahi Shimbun ``In the worst case, the reactor sites will end up being nothing more than concrete blocks.'' GOVERNMENT SOURCE In South Korea SEOUL-One thing is certain: There is no chance North Korea will have two light-water nuclear reactors up and running next year as initially scheduled. In fact, they may not be built at all. Even so, construction work on the internationally funded project started Aug. 7. Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) established the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) in 1994 following agreement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) to abandon its suspected nuclear program. The future of the project hangs precariously on a tug of war being played out between Washington and Pyongyang over the issue of inspections of North Korea's nuclear-related facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). On the wider, political front, dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang dried up when President George W. Bush was inaugurated in 2001. A hard-liner, Bush has labeled North Korea as part of an ``axis of evil.'' Eight years have already passed since the United States and North Korea agreed on the framework of international cooperation to build two light-water reactors in exchange for Pyongyang's freeze on its nuclear facilities. Ground-breaking work started in Kumho in August 1997, and the first construction work got under way five years later, on Aug. 7. The delay is mainly due to a lack of funds on KEDO's part. Completion was originally slated for 2003, now an impossible goal. The two reactors would generate 2 million kilowatts of electricity. Japan pledged $1 billion to KEDO to help cover the $4.6 billion costs. Addressing a ceremony to mark the start of construction work, Jack Pritchard, U.S. special envoy for North Korea, did not mince words in driving home the message that immediate inspections are a prerequisite. The North Korean dignitaries attending the ceremony heard Pritchard say that the future of the project and the 1994 Agreed Framework hinges on whether Pyongyang cooperates with IAEA inspections ``now.'' He went on to state that unless Pyongyang accepts inspections, construction work will be suspended in mid-2005, when major components, such as turbines, are supposed to arrive. Washington apparently views inspections as a process that will take three to four years. The Agreed Framework requires North Korea to take all measures the IAEA thinks are necessary-including, in Washington's view, opening up nuclear facilities to full IAEA inspections-before key components are installed. Washington has cautioned that unless action starts now, full inspections cannot possibly be completed in time. The two countries are still far apart on the issue of U.S. suspicions that Pyongyang secretly stored plutonium extracted from its nuclear facilities before the agreement was reached. The United States demands IAEA inspections cover every inch of North Korean territory to clear up the suspicions. North Korea responded Aug. 13 with a statement saying the U.S. allegations and demands are totally groundless. What is important now, it said, is not inspections but compensation to North Korea for electricity shortages that resulted from the delay in construction due to KEDO's lack of funds. Pyongyang argues that the issue of inspections will be resolved with progress in construction work, citing the Agreed Framework and an accompanying memorandum. The latter was not made public. The memorandum apparently makes it clear that North Korea must allow IAEA access to areas or information it deems necessary when the key components of the light-water reactor program, such as turbines, are completed. The U.S. demand for inspections is unwarranted as the key parts are not yet completed, Pyongyang maintains. A senior KEDO official admitted that in view of the Agreed Framework, North Korea has made no clear violations concerning inspections, ``at least for now.'' Despite the bickering, some KEDO officials remain cautiously optimistic. A senior official, who attended the Aug. 7 ceremony, said inspections could start soon because North Korea needs light-water reactors and is fully aware of the project's significance and international political ramifications. Even so, North Korea is being its usual obstinate self. It vigorously denies it had a nuclear arms program before signing the agreement and maintains ``three to four months would be enough'' for inspections to be completed. Other obstacles remain. Something must be done about North Korea's aging infrastructure for electricity transmission. KEDO is not obliged to do anything, but North Korea is unable to foot the huge costs. A source in the South Korean government summarized the situation this way: ``The nuclear power plants will not be completed without inspections. Fuel will not be injected unless power transmission lines are ready. In the worst case, the reactor sites will end up being nothing more than concrete blocks.''(IHT/Asahi: August 23,2002) (08/23) [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction ***************************************************************** 5 Russian Atomic Energy Ministry hails operation to extract nuclear fuel from Yugoslavia as a prime example of U.S.-Russian cooperation Yahoo! News Friday, August 23, 2002 MOSCOW - Russia's Atomic Energy Ministry on Friday hailed the recently completed operation to extract nuclear fuel from Yugoslavia as a "splendid example" of U.S.-Russian cooperation in the fight against terrorism. On Thursday, workers from the Russian ministry collected unused rods of highly enriched uranium from the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, just outside Belgrade, and transported the load to Belgrade airport under heavy security. The Soviet Union had given the fuel to the Vinca institute in 1976 for research purposes. The consignment contained 5,046 rods of high-enriched uranium, weighing more than 817 kilograms (1,797 pounds), and was enough to produce two and a half nuclear warheads, the ministry said in a statement. The uranium was brought to an Atomic Energy Ministry plant in Dimitrovgrad, a Volga River town about 750 kilometers (470 miles) east of Moscow. "Thus has yet another potential threat of terrorism or nuclear theft been eliminated," the ministry said. The U.S. State Department organized and financed the operation, and the Yugoslav government cooperated, the ministry said. In Russia, the uranium will be processed into a low-enriched form. "This operation represents a splendid example of Russian-American cooperation in preventing the threat of international terrorism," the ministry said. (ji) Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 Russian nuclear scientist disappears Yahoo! News Friday, August 23, 2002 MOSCOW - A Russian scientist who worked on issues related to the reprocessing of nuclear fuel has gone missing, police said Thursday. Sergei Bakhvalov disappeared in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, said Sergei Kozlov of the Krasnoyarsk police department. Citing relatives, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported that Bakhvalov received a call on Sunday from a man who asked to meet with him. Bakhvalov left the house and never returned, the agency said. Bakhvalov heads the department of physical chemistry at Krasnoyarsk State University and the Kristall research center. He has developed a method of reprocessing nuclear fuel from submarines, and last year won a tender for work involving the Kursk nuclear submarine, which sank in 2000, ITAR-Tass said. Bakhvalov's colleagues say they do not believe his disappearance was related to his work, ITAR-Tass said. Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information ***************************************************************** 7 AU: Greens press Gallop over nuclear fears The West Australian + August 23, 2002 By Andrew Gregory ANTI-NUCLEAR campaigners who congratulated the State Government for acting to restrict nuclear activities were told yesterday that two different Bills had been introduced to Parliament with the same name. Greens MLC Giz Watson said both she and the Government had introduced legislation called the Nuclear Activities (Prohibition) Bill. Ms Watson said her Bill would tighten the 1999 Nuclear Waste Storage (Prohibition) Act to ensure WA was free from nuclear activities. "We put the Government on notice that its Bill is wholly inadequate," Ms Watson said. She addressed a group of anti-nuclear supporters outside Parliament. Ms Watson said the Government's Bill would amend only the State's mining laws to prevent uranium being mined. Community Anti-Nuclear Network of WA spokeswoman Annemarie Hindiger said the State had an unprecedented opportunity - through Ms Watson's Bill - to remove itself from the nuclear industry. "We have never had a better chance of preserving WA from the entire nuclear fuel chain - a real spring-clean of our beautiful State," she said. She congratulated Premier Geoff Gallop for his opposition to a radioactive waste dump in WA. © 2002 West Australian Newspapers Limited All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 NRC Develops Threat Advisory and Protective Measures System Based on Office of Homeland Security Color-Coded System NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 95 - 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. 02-095 August 22, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has developed a new Threat Advisory System to communicate and respond to threats affecting NRC licensees and NRC facilities in response to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 3. The new system replaces the NRC's 1998 system, and covers additional classes of licensees not included in NRC's 1998 system. The NRC's system is based on the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) which provides a consistent national framework for allowing government officials to communicate the nature and degree of terrorist threats. It uses the HSAS five color-coded threat conditions to reflect varying levels of threat and identifies specific protective actions to be taken by NRC licensees for each color-coded threat level to counter and respond to projected terrorist threats. In a parallel effort, the NRC has conformed its system for activating the agency's Incident Response Center to the HSAS and has developed steps to be taken to enhance security at NRC buildings for various threat conditions. The five color-coded threat conditions are: + Green (Low), Low risk of terrorist attack. + Blue (Guarded), General risk of terrorist attack. + Yellow (Elevated), Significant risk of terrorist attack. + Orange (High), High risk of terrorist attack. + Red (Severe), Severe risk of terrorist attack. The threat condition will be determined by the Attorney General, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, and the NRC has an obligation under a Presidential Homeland Security Directive to establish appropriate protective measures. The current threat condition is yellow (elevated). When a new HSAS threat condition is declared, the NRC will promptly notify affected licensees of the change and refer them to recommended protective measures commensurate with the threat level. The agency may also find it prudent to notify affected licensees to establish certain additional protective measures even in the absence of a new HSAS declaration. For example, the NRC could take such a step to respond to a site-specific situation. The new system for NRC licensees will be communicated to licensees via issuance of Regulatory Issue Summaries, portions of which will be available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov. Details of the protective measures associated with various threat conditions will not be made public because of their sensitive nature. The new NRC Threat Advisory System and Protective Measures System was implemented August 20th. ***************************************************************** 9 Dozens of reactor pipes damaged Asahi Shimbun [http://www.asahi.com/] The Asahi Shimbun More than half of 61 pipes inspected during a routine check at the Fukushima nuclear power plant's No. 3 reactor showed signs of damage, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency officials said Thursday. The danger level from the damaged pipes was classified as zero minus-the lowest. Officials of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the plant's operator, inspected 61 of the approximately 270 pipes in the reactor. Thirty-six showed signs of damage. Corrosion was so advanced that six of the stainless steel pipes measured less than half their original thickness of 6.5 millimeters. The pipes transmit water used to operate the control rods in the reactor. There were no signs of a water leak nor other effects on the surrounding environment, officials said. A water leak could make it difficult for workers to operate the control rods, jeopardizing the safety of the plant. TEPCO officials plan to replace all 270 or so pipes while trying to pinpoint the cause of the damage. The Fukushima nuclear power plant was earmarked for the government's plutonium thermal (pluthermal) program, which recycles plutonium from used nuclear fuels by mixing it with uranium. But the damage to the pipes will likely increase public opposition to the plan. The pluthermal program was set to begin after the inspection process is completed. But that will now be postponed and the inspection extended to repair the damaged pipes. There are 28 similar nuclear reactors nationwide. Depending on the extent of the damage to the pipes at the Fukushima reactor, officials may need to inspect equipment at other reactors. Officials began making routine inspections from mid-July.(IHT/Asahi: August 23,2002) (08/23) [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction ***************************************************************** 10 NRC Documents about Davis-Besse In November 2001, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) determined it lacked assurance that the public had adequate protection from continued operation of the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Ohio. The NRC drafted an order requiring that the plant be shut down for safety inspections. The NRC even drafted a press release announcing that the plant had been ordered shut down. The owner of the plant, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Corporation (FENOC), resisted the NRC's efforts and ultimately got the NRC to back down. The order was not issued. The press release was not issued. When the nuclear plant was finally shut down for a scheduled refueling outage in February 2002, an unprecedented hole in its primary safety barrier was discovered. Only luck, according to NRC Regional Administrator Jim Dyer, protected the public. The following documents relating to Davis-Besse were requested from the NRC via a Freedom of Information Act submittal dated April 16, 2002. Although the NRC adamantly refuses to release the documents, UCS legally obtained copies from other sources and is pleased to make these documents available to the public. Copies in PDF format can be downloaded by clicking the links in the table below. UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS 2 Brattle Square Cambridge, MA 02238 617-547-5552 Contact us at ucs@ucsusa.org [ucs@ucsusa.org] ***************************************************************** 11 Yugoslavia sends nuclear fuel from its out-of use reactor to Russia Thursday, 22-Aug-2002 9:00AM Copyright 2002 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet) BELGRADE, Aug 22 (AFP) - Belgrade authorities sent nuclear fuel from its only out-of-use reactor to Russia on Thursday as part of a program to eliminate stocks of fuel and nuclear waste, the Beta news agency reported. The fuel from the Vinca nuclear institute outside Belgrade was flown to Russia early in the day, the news agency quoted acting chief of the institute Krunoslav Subotic as saying. The only nuclear reactor in Yugoslavia, built in the 1950s, was located at Vinca but it has been out of use since 1984, officials said. Science Minister Dragan Domazet said the shipment marked the start of a program aimed at eliminating completely used and unused nuclear fuel, as well as a nuclear waste from Vinca under an accord reached between Belgrade and the United States. "In accordance with the agreement, we have sent this transport of fresh and unused fuel from Vinca to Russia, where it should be processed and reduced to 20 percent of uranium value," Domazet said. Cleaning up at the Vinca nuclear reactor began almost a year ago, but the public has not been informed due to strict confidence measures, Domazet said. "Now we can talk about the operation which has successfully ended, since the plane which carried the fuel, has already landed in Russia," Domazet said. Financing of the program -- estimated at more than 10 million dollars -- was secured by the US government, US non-government group NTI and the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. The program also provides for replacing dilapidated containers filled with radioactive fuel from the reactor in Vinca. The waster will be transferred to a new, safer storage site outside Vinca, Domazet said. ***************************************************************** 12 March 29th 1979 account of TMI accident Report Index The Commission Senior Staff Transmittal Account of the Accident *Thursday, March 29, 1979* In retrospect, Thursday seemed a day of calm. A sense of betterment, if not well-being, was the spirit for much of the day. Radiation levels remained high at points within the auxiliary building, but off-site readings indicated no problems. The log book kept by the Dauphin County Office of Emergency Preparedness reflects this mood of a crisis passing: 5:45 a.m. Called Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency --Blaisdale, reactor remains under control more stable than yesterday, not back to normal, monitoring Continues by Met Ed, Radiological Health, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 7:55 a.m. Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency - - . . . no danger to public. 11:25 a.m. Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency advised situation same. 3:30 p.m. . . . situation is improving. 6:12 p.m. . . . no change -- not cold yet, continues to improve, slow rate, off-site release controlled. 7:00-9:00 p.m. . . . Pennsylvania Emergency Management says Island getting better. 9:55 p.m. . . . no real measureable reading off-site --no health risk off-site, no emergency, bringing reactor to cold shut down_*70* . . . . Radiation monitoring continued. Mid-morning readings showed 5 to 10 millirems an hour on-site and 1 to 3 millirems per hour across the Susquehanna River to the west. No radioactive iodine was detected in the air. The U.S Food and Drug Administration began monitoring food, milk, and water in the area for radiation contamination._*71 * ** Thursday was a day of questioning. NRC Chairman Joseph Hendrie and several key aides journeyed to Capitol Hill to brief the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment and other members of Congress on the accident. Lieutenant Governor Scranton spent several hours in the early afternoon at Three Mile Island, touring the TMI-2 control room and auxiliary building, wearing a radiation suit and respirator during part of his inspection. That same afternoon, Met Ed officials and NRC inspectors briefed several visiting members of Congress, including Rep. Allen Ertel (D-Pa.), whose district includes Three Mile Island, and Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.). Later in the day, a second Congressional delegation that included Sen. Richard Schweiker (R-Pa.) and Rep. William Goodling (R-Pa.), whose district includes York, Adams, and Cumberland counties, received a briefing. Thursday was also a day of disquieting discussions and discoveries. Thursday afternoon, a telephone conversation took place between two old acquaintances, Gordon MacLeod, Pennsylvania's Secretary of Health, and Anthony Robbins, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. One important point of that conversation remains in dispute. MacLeod recalls that Robbins urged him to recommend an evacuation of people living around Three Mile Island._*72 * Robbins denies discussing or suggesting such an evacuation._*73 * Up to this point, MacLeod -- who had taken office only 12 days before the accident -- had offered no recommendations since his department had no direct responsibility for radiological health matters. Now, however, he arranged a conference telephone call with Oran Henderson, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency; Thomas Gerusky, director of the Bureau of Radiation Protection; and John Pierce, an aide to Lieutenant Governor Scranton. MacLeod told them Robbins had strongly recommended evacuation. The others rejected the idea, although they agreed it should be reconsidered if conditions proved worse than they appeared at TMI-2. MacLeod then asked if it might be wise to have pregnant women and children under age 2 leave the area around the nuclear plant. This, too, was rejected Thursday afternoon._*74 * At 2:10 p.m., a helicopter over TMI-2 detected a brief burst of radiation that measured 3,000 millirems per hour 15 feet above the plant's vent. This information was relayed to NRC headquarters, where it created no great concern. But another release that afternoon, one within NRC limits for radiation releases, did cause considerable consternation. Soon after the accident began Wednesday, Met Ed stopped discharging wastewater from such sources as toilets, showers, laundry facilities, and leakage in the turbine and control and service buildings into the Susquehanna River. Normally, this water Contains little or no radioactivity, but as a result of the accident, some radioactive gases had contaminated it. The radiation levels, however, were within the limits set by the NRC. By Thursday afternoon nearly 400,000 gallon of this slightly radioactive water had accumulated and the tanks were now close to overflowing. Two NRC officials -- Charles Gallina one site and George Smith at the Region I office -- told Met Ed they had no objections to releasing the water so long as it was within NRC specifications. Met Ed notified the Bureau of Radiation Protection and began dumping the wastewater. No communities downstream from the plant were informed, nor was the press._*75 * When NRC Chairman Hendrie learned of the release, he ordered it stopped. Hendrie did not know the water's source, and he was concerned about the impact on the public of the release of any radiation, no matter how slight._*76 * Some 40,000 gallons had entered the river when the dumping ceased around 6:00 p.m. Both NRC officials on-site and the Governor's aides realized that authorizing release of the wastewater would be unpopular, and neither was eager to do so. Yet the tanks still were close to overflowing. After hours of discussion, agreement was reached on the wording of a press release that the state's Department of Environmental Resources issued, which said DER "reluctantly agrees that the action must be taken." Release of the wastewater resumed shortly after midnight._*77 * Late Thursday afternoon, Governor Thornburgh had held a press conference. At it, the NRC's Charles Gallina told reporters the danger was over for people off the Island. Thornburgh distrusted the statement at the time, and events soon confirmed his suspicion. At 6:30 p.m., Gallina and James Higgins, an NRC reactor inspector, received the results of an analysis of the reactor's coolant water. It showed that core damage was far more substantial than either had anticipated. At 10:00 p.m., Higgins telephoned the Governor's office with the new information and indicated that a greater possibility of radiation releases existed. Nothing had changed inside the plant, only NRC's awareness of the seriousness of the damage. Yet Higgins' call foretold events only hours away._*78 * ***************************************************************** 13 Court rejects demand to stop construction of nuclear reactors in Ukraine pending lawsuit ruling Yahoo! News Friday, August 23, 2002 KIEV, Ukraine - A Ukrainian judge on Friday rejected an environmental group's demand that the construction of two nuclear reactors be stopped pending a ruling on a lawsuit against the state nuclear regulatory agency next month, the group's director said. Public Control, a non-governmental, environmental organization, filed suit against the government on Monday, demanding that construction of reactors at the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne atomic power plants be halted pending an independent environmental review. The group claims that the State Nuclear Regulatory Committee broke the law by failing to conduct an analysis of the public health, fire safety and ecological impact of the reactors before providing a license to the state nuclear company Energoatom to construct the new reactors. Ukrainian law requires the court to order a stop to construction until it arrives at a decision on the suit. However, Judge Olena Umnova said the court considered the halt unnecessary because a ruling is expected soon, on Sept. 5, said Serhiy Koniukhov, the head of Public Control. Soviet-designed reactors are currently operating at Rivne and Khmelnytskyi and the disputed new reactors are about 85 percent complete. Ukraine has received international aid to build the reactors to compensate for the electricity lost when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986, was closed in 2000. (ms/ji) Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 14 NRC Amending Rules on How Licensees, Applicants and Members of Public May Submit Documents Electronically NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 93 - 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. 02-093 August 22, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is revising its rules on when and how licensees, applicants, vendors and members of the public may submit documents electronically to the agency. The NRC is modifying numerous provisions in its regulations to make clear it will accept electronic communications, if they comply with agency guidance. The revised procedures provide for voluntary electronic submissions to the agency through such means as CD-ROM, e-mail, and the agency's Electronic Information Exchange (EIE). The EIE enables the submission of documents electronically in a secure Web-based environment. However, the NRC also will continue to accept paper documents. The NRC will conduct a public meeting to discuss its proposal and guidance document on October 3 in the NRC Auditorium at Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md., from 8:30 a.m. until 12 noon. The NRC is seeking public comment on both the revised rule and the accompanying guidance document, which explains how to submit documents to the agency electronically and identifies those methods which may not be used. When the revised rule becomes effective, the new guidance document will supersede the agency's earlier guidance on electronic submissions, which included a Regulatory Issues Summary that informed licensees regulated under Part 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations that they may use the Electronic Information Exchange to submit electronically signed documents. The revised rule also will supersede the August 10 letter of last year issued to certain fuel cycle facilities providing them the option of electronic submissions. The revised rule and guidance do not address the submission of documents in hearings under NRC regulations in Part 2 and other parts that govern hearings. However, the NRC is currently conducting a pilot program for electronic filings in one adjudicatory proceeding. At the conclusion of the program, the agency will seek public comment on a separate rule and guidance governing procedures for electronic filings in adjudicatory proceedings. Until then, adjudicatory documents submitted to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards will continue to be filed in paper, unless electronic filing is authorized on a case-by-case basis. The rule will become effective 90 days after publication in the Federal Register, expected shortly, unless significant adverse comments on the rule are received within 45 days after publication in the Register. The NRC is publishing a direct final rule because it views this as a non-controversial action and anticipates few, if any, significant adverse comments on the rule itself. The guidance document the NRC is issuing as an appendix to the Federal Register Notice will be available on the agency's web site, at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/eie.html, by calling 301-415-6030, or via e-mail to EIE@nrc.gov [EIE@nrc.gov] . Written comments may be mailed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. Deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. Comments may also be submitted via the NRC's interactive rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov [http://ruleforum.llnl.gov] . For information about the interactive rulemaking site, contact Carol Gallagher at 301-415-5905, or CAG@nrc.gov [CAG@nrc.gov] . ***************************************************************** 15 Cooper ready to address its troubles Omaha.com August 23, 2002 *BY NANCY GAARDER* WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER PERU, Neb. - Now, the hard part starts. Federal regulators on Thursday night laid out the problems they have found at the Cooper Nuclear Station. Employees and plant officials now face the task of turning the plant around. "This is an important first step, but much work remains," said Elmo Collins, regional director of the division of reactor safety for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The problems at Cooper range from ineffective management to human error to unreliable equipment. The plant's chief problem is its crew's inability to solve problems once they have been identified. Federal regulators detailed the problems at a public session Thursday night at Peru State College that drew more than 100 people. Plant officials said they concurred with the findings and planned to have a revised improvement plan to the NRC in November. JohnMichael DeBartolo, head of the employee concerns committee, told the NRC that employees stand behind the plant's improvement plan. Employees "are adamant that they will run the plant safely," DeBartolo said. "They have a strong sense of pride." Federal and plant officials made a point of saying that Cooper is operating safely and that the public is not in danger. What has happened, though, is an erosion of Cooper's margin of safety. Collins said one concern is the increase in unplanned reductions in the amount of power that Cooper generates. Those unplanned reductions are an indicator of how the plant is running, and Cooper is drifting toward a negative rating. Jim Hutton, the plant's manager, said he expects to see that finding turn around. The plant, he said, hasn't had a significant unplanned reduction of power since May. Hutton also cited several areas of improvement at the plant: the number of recorded injuries has dropped 18 percent since Jan. 1, employees' exposure to radiation is among the lowest in the industry, and a number of emergency drills have been successfully completed. Bill Mayben, chief executive officer for Nebraska Public Power District, Cooper's owner, said the utility is committed to providing the money and other resources needed to improve Cooper. After the meeting, he estimated that the needed improvements may cost $10 million to $15 million for a couple of years. And while that's "real money," he said, it isn't an overwhelming amount, given Cooper's $200million annual budget. Talk of any imminent closing of Cooper is old news, he said. "It's clear we intend to depend on Cooper Nuclear Station into the future." One group that didn't address the NRC on Thursday but made an impression by its presence was the six-member NPPD board. Collins said the board's presence reflects the level of commitment that the NRC thinks it needs to see at Cooper. The NRC plans quarterly inspections and public briefings on Cooper's progress. ©2002 Omaha World-Herald. All rights reserved. Copyright ***************************************************************** 16 DOE holds forum to explain health program The Daily Camera: State/west Paul Aiken Former Rocky Flats employees listen to a presentation during Thurdsay's meeting, hosted by Sen. Wayne Allard, about compensation for workers at the nuclear weapons facility. Workers voice frustration By Katy Human, Camera Staff Writer August 23, 2002 ARVADA — Dozens of sick and skeptical Rocky Flats workers gathered in City Hall on Thursday to listen to experts explain how a government health compensation program may eventually help them. "I don't trust them," said James Horan of Denver, who worked at the former nuclear weapons plant for nearly three decades. More than two years ago, Congress approved a program to pay Department of Energy workers who developed certain cancers or lung diseases after being exposed to toxic and radioactive materials, and to help others apply for state worker's compensation. But many Rocky Flats workers, and other Energy Department workers around the country, say they're still struggling to get compensation for what they think are illnesses caused by their government work. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., helped organize the gathering, which included several government officials, after hearing from many constituents about problems with the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. About 60 people attended to ask questions and voice frustrations. Some breathed oxygen. Others sat in wheelchairs. "If you are confused, you have a right to be. This is a very complicated piece of legislation," Beverly Cook, assistant Energy secretary for environment, safety and health, told the workers. The program has two tracks, she explained: Workers who developed particular kinds of cancer and lung disease — or their survivors — can apply for $150,000 lump-sum payments from the Department of Labor. Other sick workers can get legal help from the Department of Energy when applying for state worker's compensation. The second part of the program won't be effective until Sept. 13, Cook said, asking the former workers to be patient. The first is in effect, and several members of the audience had received rejections of their applications for lump-sum payments. "I cried for days," said Michelle Dobrovolny, who worked at Rocky Flats for more than a decade and says she is plagued by seizures, multiple sclerosis, and a lesion on her brain. Her doctors think her neurological problems come from chemical exposure, she said. Cook assured Dobrovolny that although she was rejected for the first part of the program, she is still eligible for the second. Dobrovolny was not soothed. "It is the only chance I'll have," she said, "but I'm so disheartened." Many sick workers who have attempted to apply for the compensation programs have discovered their health records, kept by their employer, to be incomplete or even destroyed. Cook told them that her colleagues can reconstruct their exposure to toxic chemicals in other ways, including a chronology of where they worked. The discussion prompted Horan to ask the Energy Department to simply provide good, reliable health care to all its current and former employees. That might even prove cheaper that implementing the current program, he said, with its layers of calculation, analysis, verification and discussion by legal, health and regulatory experts. "I just want treatment and medical coverage for all nuclear workers," he said. "Hassle-free medical coverage." Contact Katy Human at (303) 473-1364 or humank@dailycamera.com. [http://web.dailycamera.com ***************************************************************** 17 Residents can still get KI pill* Nathan Pigott, Interim Editor August 22, 2002 *Although Pennsylvania Department of Health representatives are no longer handing out Potassium Iodide pills at Elizabethtown Area High School, residents can still obtain them during normal business hours at state, district and county health offices.* Dept. of Health officials distributed the free pills, along with information, throughout the week of August 15-21. Health Department representative Patricia Sanderson said they handed out more than 700 pills on the first day alone. Potassium Iodide, or KI, is a salt compound that will protect your thyroid gland, located in the front of your neck, against the harmful effect of radioactive iodine that may be released in a radiological emergency. The pill is available in tablet form, over-the-counter, without a prescription. The Dept. of Health is distributing the pills, which are provided by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to help ensure the safety and security of its citizens in a post-Sept. 11 world. State health officials and the governor will make an announcement telling citizens when to take KI. If there is an ongoing accident at a nuclear facility warning sirens will sound and Emergency Alert System messages will follow. At this time residents will be notified to take KI if necessary. KI should only be taken if state officials give notice. Not all radiological releases involve radioactive iodine. The pill should not be used as a replacement for evacuation either. "This is only an added layer of protection. This only helps with the thyroid. In the event of an evacuation people should still evacuate," Richard McGarvey of the Dept. of Health said. Dept. of Health representatives from the southeast district passed out pills at EAHS with help from registered nurses through the 21st. The RN's made sure nobody with an allergy to x-ray dye took the pill, since it can cause a very serious reaction. They also informed people of the possible KI side effects, which include: skin rashes, metallic taste in the mouth, sore teeth or gums, upset stomach, swelling of the salivary glands, burning feeling in mouth or throat, symptoms of a head cold and diarrhea. /©Elizabethtown Chronicle 2002/ ***************************************************************** 18 Nuclear Material Secretly Flown From Serbia to Russia for Safety The New York Times August 23, 2002* *By JAMES DAO* WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 ? More than 100 pounds of nuclear material considered at risk of being stolen or sold for use in producing nuclear weapons was secretly flown today from Serbia to Russia, where it will be processed for use in a commercial power plant, United States officials said. The operation, which was financed by the United States and a private foundation founded by Ted Turner, involved 1,200 Serbian soldiers and scores of international observers, They helped transport more than 5,000 rods of highly enriched uranium from a research reactor near Belgrade to Russia under cloak of night. The United States has been concerned about the material ? enough to make two nuclear bombs ? for many years because Serbia has been racked by political turmoil and war since the early 1990's. Moreover, the research reactor, at the Vinca Institute, has been closed for more than a decade, and security at the institute was considered suspect. American officials and nuclear experts hailed the highly classified project as a model of international cooperation and public-private financing that could be repeated in other Eastern and Central European countries that have bomb-grade nuclear materials considered at risk of being stolen or sold. "Serbia might have decided to sell this material to Iraq," said Joseph Cirincione, director of the Non-Proliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, a policy group in Washington. "It's a good thing for all of us that that possibility has now been eliminated." The United States contributed $2.5 million toward the effort out of a State Department account earmarked for nuclear threat-reduction programs. The Nuclear Threat Initiative, a foundation created by Mr. Turner, the media executive, provided $5 million more for environmental cleanup at the Vinca Institute, State Department officials said. The shipment was carried out under very tight security to guard against the theft of the materials, United States officials said. It began late Wednesday night when three identical trucks ? only one of which was carrying the nuclear material ? left the Vinca Institute, taking three different routes to the Belgrade airport. The Serbian soldiers, many wearing commando-style face masks, guarded the roads while helicopters clattered overhead. The materials reached Russia today. State Department officials said on Wednesday night that they did not know where in Russia the materials would be processed. Serbian officials told Reuters that the materials were headed for the Ulyanovsk Nuclear Processing Plant 360 miles east of Moscow. The Vinca reactor had been used for scientific research, for producing medical and industrial materials and for training power plant operators, experts said. It was one of several such small reactors that the Soviet Union had exported to its allies during the cold war era. For years, the United States has been encouraging Russia to reclaim those reactors and reprocess their fuel. Russia had been unwilling to take back the Vinca materials, until the attacks of Sept. 11 raised concerns about terrorist groups' trying to build nuclear or radioactive bombs, American officials said. "This year's environment gave everyone an appreciation of the dangers of letting stuff like this hang around," a Bush administration official said. "This is a really big win." Jon Wolfsthal, who worked on nonproliferation programs in the Department of Energy during the 1990's, said the Vinca reactor has been a top concern of the United States for nearly a decade. The United States was so keenly aware of the reactor that military planners were careful to avoid allowing American warplanes to drop bombs anywhere near it during airstrikes against Belgrade in 1999, Mr. Wolfsthal said. This is not the first time the United States has helped transport and secure nuclear materials from former Soviet reactors. In 1998, the United States and Britain collaborated on a secretive operation to remove nuclear material from the volatile Caucasus nation of Georgia and transfer it to Britain. And in 1994 the United States carried out a similar operation in Kazakhstan. The project moved more than half a ton of bomb-grade uranium from the former Soviet republic to the nuclear complex at Oak Ridge, Tenn. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company ***************************************************************** 19 Serbia Sends Nuclear Fuel to Russia Las Vegas SUN August 22, 2002 By ALEKSANDAR VASOVIC ASSOCIATED PRESS BELGRADE, Yugoslavia- Fearing a possible terrorist attack, Serbian police sealed off nearly half of Belgrade early Thursday while unused nuclear reactor fuel was brought to the airport for shipment to Russia. Helicopters hovered over the city as heavily armed police officers guarded the 22-mile route from the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, just outside Belgrade, to the airport. The heavy security was aimed at preventing a terrorist attack, said Dragan Domazet, Serbia's Minister for Technology, Science and Development. Serbia is the larger Yugoslav republic, with Montenegro. He said that the fuel could be used to help develop nuclear weapons. The shipment included 6,000 rods, each about 4 inches long and 1 inches in diameter. The Soviet Union gave the fuel rods to the Vinca institute in 1976 for research work. Following the ouster of former President Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, the new Serbian government began a program to reduce environmental hazards. Removing toxic and nuclear materials is part of the program. Domazet said that the removal of nuclear fuel was organized with the help of international groups and the U.S. government, which donated $10 million to decommission Vinca. Bringing the rods to the airport took about six hours, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. "We were vigilant and ready to cope with any potential assailant including bin Laden himself," the officer said. The cargo did not pose any environmental threat because "these bars are completely harmless until they burn in a reactor," Domazet said. The Vinca nuclear reactor was developed in early 1950s as a part of former Yugoslavia's national nuclear program. It was closed and partly decommissioned in early '80s. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 20 Uranium Fuel Plants Told to Beef Up Security (washingtonpost.com) Reuters Thursday, August 22, 2002; 1:53 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two uranium fuel plants in Virginia and Tennessee must immediately adopt stricter anti-terrorist measures such as more guards, vehicle barriers and patrols, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday. The plants, owned by BWX Technologies Inc. and Nuclear Fuel Services, take enriched uranium and make it into fuel for nuclear reactors. The NRC said it ordered the two enrichment plants to adopt similar measures already put in place by U.S. nuclear power plants as a precaution after the Sept. 11 attacks. The agency did not disclose details of its order, but said it included requirements for "increased patrols, augmented security forces and capabilities, additional security posts, installation of additional physical barriers, vehicle checks at greater standoff distances, enhanced coordination with law enforcement and military authorities, and more restricted site access controls." The NRC in June said it was analyzing what devastation might occur if a fuel-laden commercial airliner crashed into a nuclear power reactor. The agency is also considering whether to order plants to conduct more frequent drills against potential sabotage or terrorist attacks. Some U.S. lawmakers and activist groups are concerned that a Sept. 11-type attack against a nuclear plant or enrichment plant could release deadly radioactive materials. Senate Democrats have endorsed a plant to federalize the privately employed security guards at plants, but that approach is opposed by the NRC and U.S. utilities. Nuclear power plants provide about 20 percent of the nation's electricity. Full Legal Notice © 2002 Reuters ***************************************************************** 21 Risky Stash of Uranium Secured (washingtonpost.com) U.S., Russia Remove Weapons-Grade Nuclear Material From Yugoslavia [Vinca, Yugoslavia] By Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, August 23, 2002; Page A01 U.S. and Russian officials whisked away 100 pounds of weapons-grade uranium from an aging nuclear reactor in Yugoslavia yesterday in a dramatic, military-style operation described as the first of a series of preemptive strikes against the threat of nuclear terrorism. The uranium -- enough to make up to three nuclear bombs -- was spirited out of Belgrade's Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences before daybreak with an escort of Yugoslav army helicopters and 1,200 heavily armed troops. With U.S. officials looking on, the uranium was loaded onto a plane and flown to Russia to be converted into a form that cannot be used in weapons. The mission, planned in secrecy over a year, was organized to eliminate what many weapons experts regarded as one of the world's most dangerous nuclear repositories -- a large and unusually vulnerable stash of the kind of weapons-grade uranium that would be prized by the governments of Iraq, Iran and North Korea and terrorist groups such as al Qaeda. The extraction was hailed by the Bush administration and nonproliferation groups as one of the most significant actions since Sept. 11 to prevent nuclear proliferation. It also was described as evidence of a new level of cooperation with Russia, the original source of the material decades ago. Moscow had previously resisted calls to accept responsibility for Soviet-era nuclear material now stored at dozens of facilities around the world. "This stuff is the raw material for catastrophic terrorism," said former Democratic senator Sam Nunn of Georgia, a longtime advocate for safeguarding nuclear stockpiles who helped secure Yugoslav approval of the operation. "This is exactly the kind of work that countries of the world have to come together on." The removal of nearly 6,000 ingots, or "slugs," of highly enriched uranium was carried out over 17 hours by a cast of hundreds -- predominantly Yugoslav scientists and government officials with technical support from the U.S. departments of State and Energy, Russia's Ministry of Atomic Energy, or Minatom, and the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. A private U.S. group, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, provided much of the financial backing. Although they were aware of no specific threat, the planners said they feared the uranium might be hijacked in transit. Yugoslav scientists locked down the 44-year-old reactor late Wednesday as the uranium was loaded into a truck. In the predawn hours yesterday, three trucks -- two of them decoys -- left the facility with heavy military escorts and headed for Belgrade's international airport. Police sealed off several of the city's major highways for hours and positioned marksmen on rooftops to guard against a possible attack, according to State Department officials familiar with the operation. At the airport, U.S. Energy Department and Minatom officials supervised the loading of the nuclear cargo onto a Russian plane. At 8:04 a.m, the aircraft departed for Dimitrovgrad, about 520 miles southeast of Moscow, home to a Russian processing plant that specializes in converting weapons-grade uranium into the variety used by commercial nuclear power plants. State Department officials praised the Russians for their role. Minatom not only worked closely with its American counterparts over many months of planning, but it also quickly agreed to accept the uranium, something Russia had been unwilling to do previously. For instance, Moscow offered no such help in 1994, when the Clinton administration quietly removed 1,320 pounds of nuclear fuel from Kazakhstan in an episode later dubbed Operation Sapphire. That uranium was also originally supplied by the Soviet Union. "There has been a sea change," said Janet L. Bogue, deputy assistant secretary of state for European affairs. "The Russians were eager to get this done. They are just as acutely aware of the risks as we are." Minatom officials could not be reached for comment. Russia's and Yugoslavia's willing participation also raised hopes that other vulnerable nuclear stockpiles around the world can be dealt with in a similar fashion, she said. "This was a ground-breaking event," Bogue said. The nuclear reactor at Vinca is one of nearly 350 research reactors in 58 countries that use highly enriched uranium fuel. A study last spring by Harvard University's Project on Managing the Atom described such reactors as one of the gravest and most under-addressed proliferation threats, because they are vulnerable to theft. Matthew Bunn, a nuclear proliferation expert and co-author of the report, said security at the reactors "varies widely, from excellent to appalling. "In some cases security is provided by a single sleepy watchman and a chain-link fence. Yet, vulnerable nuclear material anywhere can be stolen and made into a terrorist bomb." Vinca's uranium stockpile was near the top of Bunn's list of most vulnerable targets. Not only was it unusually large, but it also was of a type that is especially easy to convert for use in weapons. The 11-inch-long ingots were also unusually accessible, stored in their original metal shipping crates in a decaying, civilian-run institute guarded by a handful of lightly armed security officers, according to U.S. officials familiar with the site. When it was built, in 1958, the Vinca reactor was envisioned as the cornerstone of an ambitious Yugoslav program that would ultimately produce nuclear weapons. Secret weapons research was reportedly carried out over decades under the instructions of dictator Tito. "We must have the atomic bomb. We must build it even if it costs us one-half of our income for years," he told aides in 1950, according to histories of the period. A Yugoslav bomb never materialized, but Tito's nuclear program left several troubling legacies in addition to the unused uranium fuel lying around after the Vinca reactor stopped operating in 1984, said William C. Potter, director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif. "You still have at Vinca many of the scientists who had been involved in this covert nuclear weapons program," Potter said. "Whatever technical know-how is needed for a weapon, you have that in spades at Vinca." Western governments had long worried that both the uranium and the scientific expertise at Vinca could be misused or commandeered by rogue elements within Yugoslav's armed forces; that concern eased only slightly after Slobodan Milosovic's removal as Yugoslav president in October 2000. Outside Yugoslavia, a number of foreign governments and groups had become interested in the uranium, according to Belgrade press accounts -- including Iraq's Saddam Hussein, who sent numerous emissaries to Belgrade during the waning years of the Milosovic government. Acutely aware of the rising interest in the uranium, both Yugoslav's newly pro-Western government and Vinca's nuclear scientists had begun publicly expressing an interest in getting rid of it. "By disposing of the hazardous material, which could be used to make nuclear weapons, Vinca is no longer a potential target for possible terrorist attempts to get hold of this fuel," a Yugoslav government spokesman said in a prepared statement after the uranium-laden plane departed Belgrade for Russia. Despite more than a year of planning and negotiation, the cost to the U.S. government was small: about $2 million used to pay for transportation and related expenses. But in an unusual twist, State Department negotiators turned to a private group to provide millions of dollars needed to close the deal. The Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit group co-founded by Nunn and Ted Turner, the media entrepreneur from Atlanta, agreed to pledge $5 million to help Yugoslavia clean up environmental problems stemming from the reactor's operation -- including more than two tons of radioactive waste. Some of the money will help keep Vinca's scientists employed. State Department officials were forced to seek outside funding because of a congressional directive that strictly limits how nonproliferation money can be used. Nunn recalled that his group was approached with the funding request last summer and given a five-day deadline to decide whether it could provide the money. The matter was settled within a few minutes in a three-way phone call among Nunn, Turner and Charles Curtis, president of Nuclear Threat Initiative and a former Energy Department undersecretary. "Ted's first question was, 'Why can't the government pay for this?' " Nunn recalled. "I explained the situation and he readily understood. He just said: 'Sign us up.' " Correspondent Peter Baker in Moscow contributed to this report. © 2002 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 22 Tests show schools near Halifax have elevated levels of uranium in water CANOE.CA August 22, 2002 Tests show schools near Halifax have elevated levels of uranium in water HALIFAX (CP) -- Two schools on the outskirts of Halifax have turned up elevated levels of uranium in their water supply.  Ten others have higher than normal rates of radioactive lead.  Despite the findings, both Nova Scotia health and environment officials said Thursday there is nothing to worry about.  Even though the schools rely on well water, Dr. Robert Strang, the medical officer of health for the Capital District Region, said the water does not pose an immediate health risk.  Education officials said bottled water will be provided to the two schools that have tested high for uranium.  In the case of the others, the principals have to request bottled water and the Halifax School Board will shoulder the cost.  Pat Wall, the Environment Department's radiation health officer, said uranium is naturally occurring in the geology of the area.  He said the results are preliminary and more tests will be done.  East St. Margaret's Elementary and Harrietsfield Elementary are the two schools with the higher than normal levels of the radioactive lead. [http://www.canoe.ca/copyright.html] © 2002, CANOE ***************************************************************** 23 Report into death sparks questions Soldier attributed condition to his time serving in Bosnia By CP HALIFAX -- The final report into the death of a Canadian soldier who served in Bosnia is expected to recommend further study into the reported illnesses of other peacekeepers in the war-torn region, says a senior military official. "Maybe we have to look into these files and these complaints," said Col. Ryan Jestin, who is preparing the final draft of a board of inquiry report into the death of Warrant Officer Michael Peace. Peace, stationed at CFB Gagetown, N.B., died in October 2000 of a brain tumour, a condition he attributed to his service in Bosnia in 1994-95, when special modifications were made to armoured vehicles. In an April 2000 letter to his superiors, Peace asked for an investigation into whether dust and fumes from the cutting and pasting of so-called "add-on armour" caused him and others with the Royal Canadian Regiment to become sick. During the inquiry, 34 soldiers came forward to say they are suffering from a variety of illnesses, including persistent headaches, vision trouble, memory problems and mysterious bleeding. Many symptoms resemble health complaints made by Gulf War veterans. The inquiry board determined the extra ceramic armour plating did not play a role in Peace's death and Jestin said that finding will be upheld in the report. The board also said there was no evidence of a connection between the strange illnesses, which have been labelled Balkan Syndrome by the veterans, and the hazardous duty the soldiers performed in Visoko. Further questions were raised in July when the Veterans Affairs Department awarded Peace's widow a full survivor's pension, saying there was a possibility her husband contracted his illness in Bosnia. Some peacekeepers testified during the Peace inquiry that they believed they had been exposed to a "chemical cocktail," including depleted uranium dust from spent ammunition. Previous story: Stabbing in fracas at resort Next story: Chopper's fatal flaw [http://www.canoe.ca/copyright.html] © 2002, CANOE, a ***************************************************************** 24 Nuclear threat remains in Serbia despite shipment of fuel to Russia DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer (08-23) 08:30 PDT BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Nuclear fuel and waste in Serbia still pose a hazard despite the recent shipping of a large amount to Russia, an official said Friday. Serbian police, fearing the shipment Thursday would become the target of a possible terrorist attack, sealed off nearly half of Belgrade for six hours as the 1,797 pounds of highly enriched fuel was trucked from the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, just outside Belgrade, to the airport. "This project is the start of an operation to clear out Vinca of used and unused nuclear fuel as well as hazardous radioactive waste," Dragan Domazet, Serbia's Minister for Technology, Science and Development, said Friday. The fuel shipped Thursday would have been enough to develop two and a half nuclear warheads, Russia's Atomic Energy Ministry said. Although not as potent, the remaining fuel and waste could also be used to develop weapons, a Vinca scientist speaking on condition of anonymity said Friday. The fuel rods transported to Russia on Thursday were given to the Vinca institute in 1976 for research work. After World War II, former Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz Tito hoped to develop nuclear weapons at Vinca. Later in the 1990s, dictator Slobodan Milosevic had the same idea, but because of sanctions against his country, he had no funds for such a project, Serbian scientists, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said. Russia's Atomic Energy Ministry on Friday hailed the operation to extract nuclear fuel from Yugoslavia as a "splendid example" of U.S.-Russian cooperation in the fight against terrorism. The uranium was brought to an Atomic Energy Ministry plant in Dimitrovgrad, a Volga River town about 470 miles east of Moscow. "Thus has yet another potential threat of terrorism or nuclear theft been eliminated," the ministry said. The U.S. State Department organized and paid $720,000 to finance the operation. The Yugoslav government cooperated, the ministry said. In Russia, the uranium would be processed into a low-enriched form. Following the ouster of Milosevic in 2000, the new Serbian government began a program to reduce environmental hazards. Removing toxic and nuclear materials is part of the program. Domazet said that the removal of nuclear fuel was organized with the help of international groups and the U.S. government, which donated $10 million to decommission Vinca. Bringing the rods to the airport took about six hours, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. "We were vigilant and ready to cope with any potential assailant, including bin Laden himself," the officer said. The cargo did not pose any environmental threat, Domazet said. The Vinca nuclear reactor was developed in early 1950s as a part of former Yugoslavia's national nuclear program. It was closed and partly decommissioned in early 1980s. ©2002 Associated Press   ***************************************************************** 25 State nuke-pill program ends with a strong showing LancasterOnline.com Friday, August 23 MADELYN PENNINOIntelligencer Journal Staff Pennsylvania residents flocked to 15 distribution sites across the state Wednesday to get potassium iodide pills in the final day of a weeklong giveaway. In all, 436,000 pills were distributed free of charge, Richard McGarvey, a state Health Department spokesman, said Thursday. That number was up from an estimate of 336,782 at midday Wednesday. More than 650,000 people living within a 10-mile radius of Pennsylvania's five nuclear power plants are eligible for the pills. McGarvey said Wednesday was the busiest day of the campaign. Elizabethtown and Solanco high schools were the sites in Lancaster County where residents living near Three Mile Island nuclear power station and Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station could receive two free pills per resident. The pills, more commonly known by their chemical symbol, KI, help prevent thyroid cancer and other thyroid problems caused by radiation exposure. They are to be taken only upon instruction by the governor. Solanco High School was a distributionsite for people living near Peach Bottom, which is in York County. The Solanco site handed out 14,754 pills. McGarvey said 35,390 pills were handed out at Elizabethtown, the most of the distribution sites near Three Mile Island in Dauphin County. Distribution sites throughout Dauphin County were busy during the giveaway. State nurses at Crossroads Middle School handed out 30,418 pills, followed by Lower Dauphin Middle School with 24,042. Nurses at Fink Elementary School and Commitment Life Team Building handed out 20,104 and 16,556 pills, respectively. Health Secretary Robert S. Zimmerman Jr. said he was pleased that so many people took advantage of the offer. Pennsylvania was one of 16 states distributing the pills. "I'd like to commend the many Pennsylvanians who took the time to be informed about KI and the thousands of residents who visited our distribution centers," Zimmerman said. The state was given 1.9 million pills to hand out near its Beaver Valley, Limerick, Peach Bottom, Susquehanna and Three Mile Island plants. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission began the distribution project because of heightened concerns about terrorist attacks on power plants following Sept. 11. State officials emphasized evacuation is still the most effective protection against radiation in the event of an accident. The Associated Press contributed to this report. ©2001 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 26 Professor Outlines Benefits Of Low-Dose Radiation ScienceDaily Magazine -- Source: University Of Wisconsin-Madison (http://www.wisc.edu) Posted 8/23/2002 MADISON -- A recent article published by University of Wisconsin-Madison emeritus professor John R. Cameron suggests that we all need more radiation for good health. Cameron's article in the July issue of the British Journal of Radiology outlines evidence that a moderate annual dose of radiation increases longevity. He also outlined his findings last week at the Armed Forces Radiobiological Research Institute in Bethesda, Md. According to Cameron, British radiologists who entered the field between 1955 and 1979 had a 29 percent lower cancer death rate compared to all other male English physicians of the same age. Radiologists also had a 36 percent lower death rate from non-cancer causes and a 32 percent lower death rate from all causes. The chances of such a health improvement being accidental is less than one in a thousand, Cameron says. The lower death rate from all causes results in more than a three-year increase in longevity -- the same increase in longevity that would result if all cancer were curable. In addition, Cameron discussed similar news from a U.S. government sponsored study that he participated in which shows that the 28,000 nuclear shipyard workers with the greatest radiation doses, when compared to 32,500 shipyard workers who had no on-the-job radiation, had significantly less cancer and a 24 percent lower death rate from all causes. That is, the nuclear workers had an almost three-year increase in longevity, Cameron says. The chance of that health improvement being accidental is less than one in 10 million billion. Cameron has been recognized for his contributions in the fields of radiation and radiology by various national and international organizations. In 1960, he was the inventor of the bone densitometer to detect and accurately measure bone density, which indicates the presence or absence of osteoporosis. There are now about 50,000 such instruments in the world. To read the British Journal of Radiology article, visit: http://bjr.birjournals.org/cgi/content/full/75/895/637 For another Cameron article on the subject, in Physics and Society (October 2001), visit: http://www.aps.org/units/fps/oct01/a5oct01.html ***************************************************************** 27 Federal Long Island Breast Cancer Results Lacking - By Karl Grossman This column ran in East Hampton Star, Southampton Press, other Long Island newspapers, this week. By Karl Grossman Friday, August 23, 2002 Results have been announced of the multi-million dollar federal Long Island Breast Cancer Study--that no links have been found between breast cancer here and several chemicals studied--and Newsday has devoted a series to the study’s inconclusive outcome and the New York Times featured it on the front page of its "Week in Review" section. One word is not mentioned in the Newsday or New York Times articles: radioactivity. That is because radioactivity was specifically not part of the study. This is an outrage to those who believe that in analyzing the high rates of breast cancer on Long Island, the impacts of radioactivity from the nuclear power plants that surround Long Island and the reactors at Brookhaven National Laboratory--smack in the middle of Long Island--must be analyzed, too. Dr. Janette Sherman, an internist and toxicologist, noted in a letter published in Saturday’s New York Times, that a "critical" omission was cited in the federal study "even before the study began…addressing exposures to nuclear radiation." "Long Island is home to the leaking Brookhaven Lab and downwind from nuclear power reactors in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut," Dr. Sherman wrote in her Times letter. She spoke of Long Islanders being "exposed" to more than 200 radioactive substances, "all demonstrated carcinogens. Many studies have linked nuclear releases with cancer… Radioactive isotopes are easily measured in tissues and the environment, but this research tool was dismissed for the study." Radioactivity, said Dr. Sherman in an interview this week, was something the study "wanted to stay away from" because documentation of its health impacts could upset "the economic investment in nuclear technology," As a result, she said, the study was performed to be "inconclusive by design." Dr. Sherman is author of the 2000 book "Life’s Delicate Balance: Causes and Prevention of Breast Cancer" which includes chapters titled "The Breast Cancer Epidemic on Long Island" and "Radiation--Bikini Island to Long Island." She describes in her book how "Long Island breast cancer activists urged inclusion of radiation issues" in the Long Island Breast Cancer Studyand were rebuffed. The efforts of Mary Joan Shea are specifically cited. Ms. Shea said this week she considers radioactivity "a big part of the picture" as a breast cancer cause on Long Island and charged it was omitted from the study "because there is a big financial interest in maintaining the status quo--there is a lot of money involved." Research on the Long Island Breast Cancer Study was coordinated by Columbia University and Alice Slater, president of the Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE), tells of a meeting with a high Columbia official about it leaving out radioactivity. "When we saw the parameters of the study, we were very concerned. Why were they not looking at radioactivity?" recounted Ms. Slater this week. The Columbia administrator "was very candid," said Ms. Slater, an attorney. "He told us this is a National Institutes of Health study and the NIH does not want to step on the toes of the Department of Energy." A mission of the Department of Energy is promoting nuclear power and it owns Brookhaven National Laboratory. "Not to look at radiation is absolutely bizarre," said Ms. Slater. "Brookhaven Lab has been dripping plutonium and Strontium 90 into our water and emitting radiation from its stacks." To Ms. Slater, the Long Island radioactivity omission parallels a global radiation omission--about which she has spoken out. An agreement between the World Health Organization and International Atomic Energy Agency, both United Nations-created bodies--a copy of which she faxed me--states: "Whenever either organization proposes to initiate a program or activity on a subject in which the organization has or may have a substantial interest, the first party shall consult the other with a view to adjusting the matter." What this has meant, says Ms. Slater, is that "the World Health Organization, the global organization to do research on health trends on this planet, does no research on radiation unless the project is approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency, set up to promote nuclear power and dominated by the nuclear industry, and WHO cannot report the results of its findings unless they are cleared by the IAEA." Meanwhile, a move is now on change the limits of radiation exposure in the U.S. A Biological Effects of Radiation (BEIR) panel of the National Academy of Sciences is to make recommendations to the federal government. The panel is dominated by those who believe radiation is not as dangerous as thought and there is even interest in the notion of "hormesis"--that a little radiation is good for people, that it helps exercise the immune system. Do you get the feeling we’re not being protected? You’re right. ***************************************************************** 28 Group says post-quake inspection of Yucca Mountain too hasty Las Vegas SUN August 22, 2002 ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS (AP) - A Washington-based environmental group says the Energy Department was too eager to downplay a June 14 earthquake near Yucca Mountain. Hours after the 4.4 magnitude earthquake, the agency reported that no damage was done at the proposed nuclear waste repository site. Scientific studies conducted days later confirmed the site was undamaged, but Public Citizen told congressional energy committees Wednesday that the Energy Department "rushed to judgment" with their initial report. The group has challenged whether Yucca Mountain is safe for nuclear waste storage because of earthquake activity in the region and other geological factors. "We would expect the agency to err on the side of precaution and make definitive statements based only on thorough research," said Wenonah Hauter, director of the group's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. "Clearly the department's June 14 statement of `no damage' was premature and at the time lacked conclusive supporting evidence," Hauter said. Hauter's letter was sent to Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who leads the House energy and air quality subcommittee. Yucca Mountain Project spokesman Allen Benson said the Energy Department's actions on June 14 were appropriate. Public Citizen said its charges were based on documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Energy Department officials have said a Yucca Mountain repository could be built to withstand nearby earthquakes up to 6.5 on the Richter scale. The Yucca Mountain site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, has been selected to store 77,000 tons of the nation's nuclear waste beginning in 2010. The Energy Department must first obtain the required permits and turn back several legal challenges filed by Nevada officials. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 29 Editor's Note: Two peas in a pod Las Vegas Mercury: Thursday, August 22, 2002 President Bush and Gov. Kenny Guinn are a lot alike. Some might see that as a compliment to one or both of them, but that's not how I see it. Bush's presidency has been a disaster. From recession to corporate crime, from stock market turmoil to environmental degradation, from the Middle East to Yucca Mountain, Bush has either done the wrong things or failed to do anything at all. Now, his approval ratings slumping like your 401(k), Bush wants to launch a war with Iraq, a proposition for which he can't even get support from some of his Republican cronies. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd has really been nailing Bush lately. Last week she marveled at his inability to sit still for even 20 minutes at his vaunted economic summit in Waco. "By the final session, Bush was staring into space, finding the talk of stimulus unstimulating," she writes. "As the president told one group: `I can assure that even though I won't be sitting through every single moment of the seminars--nor will the vice president--we will look at the summaries.' The Cliffs Notes presidency." Beautifully apt. Guinn too has presided over a mess. From budget cuts to medical malpractice, from Nevada State College to Yucca Mountain, from tax reform to economic diversification, Guinn has failed to be the least bit useful. The governor talked tough on Yucca Mountain for a while, putting on his "visibly upset" face when his GOP buddies in Washington put the screws to Nevada. Then, after Bush and the Senate approved the nuclear waste dump, Guinn switched gears and defended the president's motives and actions. Bush didn't really lie to the people of Nevada, Guinn assured us, he genuinely believes Yucca Mountain is the scientifically right thing to do. Anyone who believes Bush spent more than 10 minutes thinking about Yucca Mountain just hasn't been paying attention. As Maureen Dowd and others have noted, the president has trouble focusing on anything as complicated as Yucca Mountain. To his credit, Guinn doesn't appear to have the same problem. His admirers tell us he knows the state budget backward and forward, that he really understands the gritty details of the state's top issues, from tax reform to malpractice rates to utility issues. Guinn's problem is a reluctance to do anything with all that knowledge. Year after year he announces budget cuts, as he did last week, and year after year he stresses the need for more tax revenue. We get the budget cuts, of course, but we never seem to get the tax revenue. Guinn fiddles while Nevada burns. Our education system, from kindergarten to grad school, is grossly underfunded, and now Guinn wants to cut millions more, a move that could force universities and community colleges to cut course offerings this fall. At the same time, Guinn's much-touted Millennium Scholarship program, as worthwhile as it seems, hasn't increased the number of young Nevadans enrolling in college. It hasn't done, in other words, what it was intended to do. And thank goodness for that, in truth, because if the Millennium Scholarship program had dramatically increased enrollment, it would have caused nightmares for the colleges and universities that lack the funding to handle such an influx. Guinn's tax committee is meeting again this week, and it's not a whole lot closer to a concrete plan than it was at this time last year. It's clear from recent comments of committee members that the group isn't particularly progressive in its thinking. While this crew of mostly business leaders appears to agree that the state needs more revenue, it isn't particularly interested in any sweeping solutions. Guy Hobbs, chairman of the Task Force on Tax Policy and a former Clark County budget chief, wrote in an opinion piece in the Sun last week that the number-crunching shows a need for hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue over the next few years just to maintain the current level of services. Hundreds of millions more will be needed if we want to increase "service levels." If? Hobbs writes that the tax proposals receiving the most consideration so far "include expansion of the sales tax base, increases in certain excise taxes (i.e., cigarette and liquor taxes), improving the efficiency of current tax collections, increasing taxes on property, implementing a state lottery program and imposing some form of increased tax upon all businesses." Let's hope Hobbs' list wasn't written in priority order, because only two items toward the end are worthy of serious discussion. Sales and excise taxes are inherently regressive, which is one of the major problems Nevada has in the first place. Expanding sales and excise taxes would only exacerbate the problem. "Improving the efficiency of current tax collections" is Guinn's duty now--not at some future date after the task force finishes its deliberations and the Legislature sinks its sharpened teeth into the proposals. A state lottery? Regressive in nature, but fairly harmless, I suppose, though one hardly could count on it to solve the state's financial mess over the long term. That leaves increasing property taxes and creating a new business tax. These are both worthy proposals, which means the odds of either one winning the support of Guinn and the Legislature are slim. The only solution I can see is for Bush to find his soulmate Guinn some cushy appointment in D.C. that would require him to leave Carson City early. Maybe Lorraine Hunt has what it takes--you know what I mean--to turn this foundering ship around. --GEOFF SCHUMACHER Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury, 2001 - 2002 Stephens Media Group ***************************************************************** 30 Nuclear shipment alarms Belgrade BBC NEWS | Europe | Thursday, 22 August, 2002, [Magnox fuel rods] Authorities said the bars were "completely harmless" Serbia has flown 6,000 uranium rods - enough to make two nuclear bombs - back to Russia, in high-security operation that alarmed residents in the capital Belgrade. We were vigilant and ready to cope with any potential assailant including [Osama] Bin Laden himself Serbian police officer Helicopters hovered over the city and special police in gas masks guarded the route from the Vinca nuclear research institute to a local airport, as the transportation operation began early on Thursday. The Serbian Science Minister, Dragan Domazet, said city residents were in no danger, stressing that the operation had to be kept secret because of a risk of terrorist attack. "You always have to foresee everything, like a possible terrorist attempt to seize the fuel. The quantity shipped was enough to make at least two atom bombs," he said. He added that "these bars are completely harmless until they burn in a reactor". 'Vigilant' A Serbian police officer told the Associated Press news agency that transportation of the rods to the Belgrade airport took hours and "was the most difficult for us in years". "We were vigilant and ready to cope with any potential assailant including [Osama] Bin Laden himself," the police officer said. The former Soviet Union gave the nuclear fuel to the Vinca institute in the 1970s for research purposes. But the rods had been kept unused since the early 1980s, after a reactor at the institute was closed. The removal of the nuclear fuel was organised in co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and paid for by the United States. The uranium rods have taken to the Ulyanovsk Nuclear Processing Plant in central Russia. ***************************************************************** 31 UK: SELLAFIELD FACES BIGGER DISCHARGE RESTRICTIONS... [The Whitehaven News] RELUCTANT BNFL faces a big crackdown on the amounts of radioactivity it discharges into the air and sea from Sellafield. The Environment Agency is asking the government to bring in tough new discharge limits - but Sellafield's operators are not happy. One of the Agency's main aims is to minimise radiation exposure to the general public particularly those living and working along the coast. It wants to see significant reductions "in most discharge limits which will reduce potential radiation exposure to the most exposed members of the public - those living in Cumbrian coastal communities bordering the Irish Sea - as well as average doses to members of the public." But state-owned BNFL claims the proposed crackdown is not necessary and could even lead to bigger radiation dose for some Sellafield workers. These are the health physical monitors and other employees responsible for sampling radioactive material. Sellafield spokesman Alan Hughes said: "Potentially, they're are going to have a bigger radiation dose because, in effect, they will be doing the job probably 10 times rather than the once." He added: "On top of this, it's all going to mean an awful lot of extra work and money which we don't feel is justified by any real environmental benefits or improvements. If we thought it was necessary to take action we would do so but we don't believe the additional analysis is justified because of the extra dose risk." If government ministers agree the proposals, Sellafield plants will also have stricter limits put on their operation in order to tighten up radioactive waste disposal regulation. This is to make sure the environment is protected during a massive clean up of the nuclear waste legacy at Sellafield. Final proposals to the government include:- n A reduction of more than three quarters on the limits for aerial discharges and half of the liquid discharge limits so that radiation doses to the most exposed members of the public are cut by up to 35 per cent, although they are already within legal limits. n Controls on discharges from individual plants as well as from the site as a whole n A new, single integrated certificate of authorisation for regulating waste disposals to air, sea and land from Sellafield n A significant programme of environmental improvements Barbara Young, the Environment Agency's chief executive, said: "These proposals set the foundation for a cleaner future. They enable BNFL to continue to clean up the legacy of waste from Sellafield's industrial past within a tighter and more focused regulatory control framework." Sellafield is a major source of radioactive discharges into the environment and the Agency's proposals have taken account of widespread public consultations and responses. They have still to be endorsed by Margaret Beckett, the Secretary of State for the Environment; Michael Meacher, the Environment Minister, and Alan Milburn, Secretary of State for Health. They will be aware of BNFL's feeling along with the rest of the responses from the public consultations. BNFL insist: "We are committed to further reductions in discharges where they will have a positive environmental benefit." And the company warns: "Managing and de-commissiong the historic legacy of at Sellafield will lead to radioactive discharges which will be subject to some uncertainty. It is possible that managing this will justify seeking increases in some limits in the future. The proposed additional sampling, monitoring and analysis will impose an extra burden on BNFL and ultimately the Liabilities Management Agency which is likely to be even greater than the estimated £20-£40 million." *The bottom line is that if the limits are tightened up, it is the LMA through the government which will foot the biggest part of the bill - not BNFL. http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk ***************************************************************** 32 UK: ...AND GROWING OPPOSITION TO REPROCESSING [The Whitehaven News] [http://www.cumbria-online.co.uk] SELLAFIELD workers are "fighting for our lives" against a rising tide of anti-reprocessing feeling in Europe. Reprocessing is still the big breadwinners at Sellafield and also for its rival equivalent in France, La Hague. But now union leaders from the two sites are joining forces to conduct a joint nuclear workers' campaign within the EU and the European Parliament. "We have to defend our industry and to counter the scaremongering of our opponents," said Sellafield's Howard Rooms, who is national secretary for the UK nuclear workers' campaign. The unions are on the attack following a recent public hearing in Brussels by the Euro Parliament's Committee of Petitions which heard not only strong Irish opposition to Sellafield but also anti-nuclear sentiments from the European Environment minister Margot Wallstrom. "This hearing which discussed the nature and impact of reprocessing plants in Europe has served as a wake-up call for nuclear workers in France, and in the UK," said Mr Rooms. It alarmed us and made us realise there is much work to be done in Europe. "There are encouraging signs for us in mainland Europe, particularly from Sweden and Finland, but not so, it seems, within the institutions of the European Union. The work of the self-styled Greens and the Irish is a big factor within the Euro Parliament and its institutions. They have an influence that far outweighs their numerical strength. "Everything that happened at the Brussels hearing was as if an early halt to reprocessing was already engraved in the hearts of the European officials. "Our reaction, as British and French nuclear workers, has been to come together and to take our campaign in defence of La Hague and Sellafield right to the heart of Europe. There's no doubt our future collaboration and campaign will be necessary if we want to bring our weight to bear on future political decisions in Europe," said Mr Rooms. MEPs of all parties and countries will be informed about the industry's "true facts" and the strong level of community support in West Cumbria and Nord-Contentin across the Channel. [http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk ***************************************************************** 33 UK: FRESH REASSURANCES OVER HEREDITARY LEUKAEMIA FEARS [The Whitehaven News] [http://www.cumbria-online.co.uk] SELLAFIELD's male radiation workers have received a categorical assurance that they are not in danger of causing leukaemia in their unborn children. COMARE - the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment - is sure that radiation alone is not to blame for the childhood leukaemia cluster at Seascale in the shadow of the world's biggest nuclear reprocessing plant. Studies in the United Kingdom and other countries have found "no evidence of a causal link between workers exposure to radiation and cancer in their children." The COMARE findings follows an extensive review of what it calls the most recent epidemiology studies of the offspring of radiation workers and also the latest laboratory and genetic research. Reference is made to the Seascale cluster near Sellafield "where the fathers of children who developed leukaemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma had all received larger than average occupational radiation doses." But COMARE note that no excess was found in the surrounding area where most of the radiation workers live. "If there were a link with workers radiation exposure similar rates of cancer would have been expected in their children," say the medical experts. One of the key findings is that the risk of the children of radiation workers developing childhood leukaemia - in absolute terms - is low. As childhood leukaemia accounts for just under half of the cancer cases among young people in Seascale in the last 50 years, it was increasingly unlikely that any single factor such as parental exposure to radiation was the cause. Trying to explain the Seascale cluster, COMARE say it is possible that population mixing could be responsible for a substantial part of the childhood leukaemia excess mainly between 1950 and 1970 in Seascale. Much of the increased rate in Seascale might be due to some effect associated with population mixing, probably an increased exposure to infectious agents. Although this effect might combine with parental radiation exposure to give a greater risk, it was more likely a chance happening that the highest paternal doses may have occurred just when the population mixing effect was at its greatest." COMARE's studies found that childhood leukaemia appeared more prevalent in families from higher social class backgrounds where children would be less likely to be exposed to common infections, making them more susceptible to viral agents that could lead to leukaemia. Still, despite this and its link with population mixing, the experts make the following telling comment: "We cannot exclude the possibility that there was some factor associated with Seascale in the 1950s and 60s that interacted synergistically with an effect of radiation that would otherwise not have been noticeable." During its early years Sellafield drew a lot of scientific and technical staff from other parts of the country, explaining the migration theory, but Professor Martin Gardner caused a big scare by among the workers by suggesting the radiation exposure link. This has now been discounted by COMARE. "It is good news for our workforce," said Paul Thomas, the company's environment, health and safety chief. He added: "This report should offer considerable comfort to employees that the low levels of occupational radiation exposure they may receive as part of their work do not increase the risk of cancer in children." http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk ***************************************************************** 34 Idaho Nuclear Watchdog Asks DOE to Hold Off on South Carolina Waste Burial The Snake River Alliance Idaho’s nuclear watchdog Aug. 22, 2002 For immediate release The Snake River Alliance today asked the US Department of Energy not to implement a recent decision to leave highly radioactive sediments permanently in underground tanks at the Savannah River nuclear weapons site in South Carolina. The Idaho nuclear watchdog wants the DOE to give the federal district court in Boise a chance to rule on the group’s request to stop the DOE from cementing high-level waste in tanks in the ground at Washington, South Carolina and Idaho. The DOE on Aug. 9 signed a record of decision (ROD) to proceed with a plan at its Savannah River site to leave 49 high-level waste tanks in the ground after filling them with grout to “stabilize” rather than remove highly radioactive sediments. The ROD, published in the Federal Register on Aug. 19, was signed in Washington, DC on the same day that a federal judge in Boise denied a DOE motion to dismiss a lawsuit asking the court to stop the very type of activity the ROD would authorize. “We are hopeful that we can work this out with the DOE without having to go to the court,” said Geoff Fettus, a Natural Resources Defense Council lawyer handling the case for the Alliance, and the Yakama and Shoshone-Bannock tribes. The parties have asked the DOE to provide a schedule of its plans to implement its Aug. 9 decision as well as to agree not to implement the decision until the court has decided the merits of their lawsuit. They requested a DOE response by Sept. 9 and said they will explore all legal options should the DOE fail to agree to their requests. “What the DOE is attempting in South Carolina is what it is planning to do in Idaho and Washington,” said Gary Richardson, executive director of the Snake River Alliance. “It is important that it not be allowed to proceed until the merits of our case are decided in court.” The Alliance has argued that the DOE’s attempt to reclassify high-level radioactive waste as “incidental to reprocessing” would use an illegally low standard for cleaning up some 100 million gallons of the nation's most highly radioactive waste. The DOE is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to bury all of its high-level radioactive waste deep underground in a geologic repository. Leaving the waste in tanks and covering it in concrete would ensure it would eventually leach into the Snake River Aquifer in Idaho, the Columbia River in Washington, and the groundwater at the Savannah River site. ### Contact: Gary Richardson (208) 344-9161 (days) (208) 336-2128 (eves) Beatrice Brailsford (208) 234-4782 (days) (208) 233-7212 (eves) The Snake River Alliance is an Idaho-based grassroots group working through research, education, and community advocacy for peace and justice, the end of nuclear weapons production activities, and responsible solutions to nuclear waste and contamination. ***************************************************************** 35 NRC Orders Enhanced Security for Enriched Uranium Fuel Fabricators NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 94 - 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. 02-094 August 22, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued immediately effective Orders to BWX Technologies, Inc. and Nuclear Fuel Services to implement interim compensatory security measures for the current threat environment. These companies, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Erwin, Tennessee, respectively, fabricate enriched uranium fuel for nuclear reactors. Like the NRC's February 25 Orders issued to operating commercial nuclear power plants, these Orders are immediately effective and formalize a series of security measures that NRC licensees have taken in response to NRC advisories, or on their own, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Additional security enhancements resulting from NRC's on-going comprehensive security review are also spelled out in the Orders. Although the details are sensitive and not publicly available, the Orders generally include requirements for increased patrols, augmented security forces and capabilities, additional security posts, installation of additional physical barriers, vehicle checks at greater standoff distances, enhanced coordination with law enforcement and military authorities, and more restricted site access controls. Licensees are required to provide NRC with a schedule within 20 days for achieving full compliance. Licensees must also notify NRC within 20 days and justify in writing if they are unable to comply with any of the requirements of the Order, if compliance with any requirement is believed unnecessary in their specific circumstances, or if implementation of any requirement would cause the licensee to be in violation of the provisions of any NRC regulation or the facility's license, or adversely impact the safe operation of the facility. These security requirements will remain in effect until the NRC determines that the threat level has diminished, or that other changes are needed as a result of the NRC's comprehensive safeguards and security program re-evaluation. A copy of the non-sensitive portion of the Orders will be posted on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/safeguards/response-911.html, under Orders. ***************************************************************** 36 Fired National Guard officers get settlement 24 years later The Seattle Times: Local News: August 23, 2002 - 12:00 a.m. Pacific By The Associated Press SPOKANE — More than two decades after they were fired for refusing to allow suspected drug users access to nuclear weapons, four former Washington Air National Guard officers have been awarded $4 million. The settlement, which also gives the former officers the pensions they would have earned had they remained in the service, ends a lawsuit that was filed after the 1978 firings. "There were times when I thought it was going to go on forever," said John Warn, one of the former officers. "We thought maybe we'd all be dead by the time it was settled." Warn, Richard Main and Alfred Christoffersen were lieutenant colonels and William Gibson was a colonel when they were forced out of the 141st Air Refueling Wing and fired from their federal civil-service jobs in 1978. At the time, National Guard leaders contended the firings were an effort to keep younger officers in the ranks. In 1974, Main suspended from flight duties two captains in his unit after suspecting they were involved in drug use and trafficking. At the time, the Spokane-based air wing flew F-101 jet fighters, and the Air Force had just issued the unit nuclear-tipped Genie missiles. The unit's commander, Robert Collins, ordered the two captains reinstated. Main and his assistant, Christoffersen, then notified the Air Defense Command, which was in charge of the missiles. The Pentagon ordered the National Guard unit's missiles locked up, and a few weeks later, all nuclear weapons were removed from all guard units in the nation. Gibson and Warn were on review boards that upheld the suspensions. In 1978, after Collins had been named adjutant general of the Washington Air National Guard, Main, Christoffersen, Warn and Gibson were forced out of their jobs. First they filed their lawsuit in federal court, but were told they should be in state court because the dispute was with the National Guard, a state agency. When they sued in state court, they were told they should be in federal court because their dispute was with the Air Force. "I've been kicked out of every court in the country," said Matthew Andersen, an attorney who has handled their case since 1980. "It was judicial pingpong." Eventually, an Air Force board ruled they were improperly dismissed from the military. U.S. District Judge Alan McDonald recently ordered the federal government to pay up. [http://www.seattletimescompany.com/] ***************************************************************** 37 decommissioned nuclear submarine opens to the public for the first time in Plymouth BBC - Devon - News - Friday 23 August 2002 Nuclear submarine opens to the public HMS Courageous is the first exhibit of its type in the UK A decommissioned nuclear submarine opens to the public for the first time this weekend at the Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. HMS Courageous, a 285-foot 3,500-ton submarine which served in the Falklands War, was taken out of commission in 1992. The submarine, which has been stored at Devonport since 1993, is the first exhibit of its kind in the UK to be opened to the public. Initially people will only be allowed on board during Naval open days starting with the three-day Navy Days event over the coming Bank Holiday weekend - on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. If the event is successful it is hoped to take the vessel out of the Navy's educational programme, and allow it to be run by an independent charitable trust. [Interior of HMS Courageous ] An interior view of HMS Courageous Much of the vessel's equipment, including its nuclear reactor and cooling water, was stripped out after the submarine was taken out of service. The past few months have been spent searching for authentic replacements, which have now been reinstated for the public display. Up to 30 people at a time will be allowed on board the Churchill class sub. The public will get to see the control room, the cramped living quarters, the torpedo room and the galley. The nuclear reactor area remains sealed off and will not be open to the public, although the Navy insists there is no radiation risk. It had been hoped Courageous might be open to the public by spring 2002, but the plan had to wait for sufficient funding and a for free dock to display the vessel. Naval base commander Commodore Ric Cheadle said: "The Courageous exhibit is unique and we hope to develop it further if there is enough public interest." "Devonport has been developing a heritage and visitor area in South Yard and Courageous will further enhance our efforts to inform and we hope reassure the public about the presence of nuclear-powered submarines here." Royal Navy throws open its doors Every two years the Royal Navy throws open the doors at Devonport, the largest naval base in Europe, for the Navy Days spectacular. [Navy Days montage ] Navy Days montage Visitors will be able to go on board ships and submarines, most of which will be open below decks so that enthusiasts can see what really happens inside the Navy's warships. Ships on display will include Type 22 and 23 frigates, the submarine HMS Tireless, and vessels from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Each day there will also be a fast-moving river or maritime display featuring the Royal Marines and there will be a flying display of Royal Naval aircraft, including dramatic demonstrations of the Sea Harrier. Preparations are under way today, with ships coming into the port - including the Russian destroyer, the RFS Admiral Chabanenko. ***************************************************************** 38 Public debates merit of Hanford trenches This story was published Wed, Aug 21, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer A pair of thumbs up and a pair of technical recommendations summed up Tuesday's public feedback on a tentative Hanford plan to dispose low-activity radioactive tank wastes in huge trenches. About 20 people attended a public comment session in Richland on the Department of Energy's proposal to dig six trenches in either the 200 East or 200 West areas to accept canisters of glassified wastes. This was a step toward preparing a draft environmental impact study by October. A final report and recommendations are due in April. The proposed trenches are linked to Hanford's plans to build a complex to convert the site's 53 million gallons of radioactive tank wastes into glass. The wastes will be chemically separated into high-level and low-activity wastes before glassification. The glassified high-level wastes will be stored in an existing underground vault for eventual shipment to Yucca Mountain, Nevada. About 90 percent of the tank wastes are low-activity wastes, which are supposed to be glassified and buried in central Hanford. The trenches are to be dug and lined in time to receive the low-activity wastes by 2007. The trenches are tentatively expected to be 30 feet deep, 900 feet long and 260 feet wide. DOE's current focus is on producing solid glass masses instead of the original plan of turning the wastes into glass pellets. At Tuesday's meeting, Gordon Rogers of Pasco supported the overall concept but said the study should be linked with another study on processing, burying and shipping barrels of other types of radioactive and chemical wastes. "We need to make sure we've got all the waste forms covered," he said. Don Clark of Richland said, "You're basically on the right track." However, he wanted more studies on the costs and risks of the various options. In broad terms, the estimated cost to dig, line, cover and monitor the trenches is $678 million. Allyn Boldt of Kennewick said DOE should keep both options for solid glass masses and glassified pellets to offer future flexibility. Dick Schmidt of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development recommended DOE look at using old cathode ray tubes -- such as television screens -- as raw glass material for glassification melters. The rationale is to recycle that material, he said. Another study would have to look at potential disposal options if DOE opts to pursue other ways to deal with low-activity tank wastes. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 39 DOE briefs Inslee on Hanford matters This story was published Thu, Aug 22, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer A waterproof coating is being considered for the ground above Hanford's single-shell tanks. The Department of Energy briefed U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., about that and other concepts Wednesday as he swung through Eastern Washington on congressional and campaign fund-raising business. DOE is studying spray-coating the ground above Hanford's 149 old single-shell tanks to prevent heavy rains and major snow melts from sending significant amounts of water through the ground, which already contains more than 1 million gallons of radioactive contaminants from tank leaks. That water is a major factor in driving contaminants down to the aquifer beneath central Hanford, said Rob Yasek, vadose zone project manager for DOE's Office of River Protection. DOE expects to settle on a light waterproof coating that can be sprayed or otherwise spread on the ground in fiscal 2003, DOE officials said. DOE also briefed Inslee about its search for ways to neutralize low-activity radioactive tank wastes cheaper and quicker than conventional glassification. Inslee thought that search appears promising. But he added he supports the state Department of Ecology's stance that before adopting any new technology, DOE must prove its effectiveness. Any new approaches should not delay existing Tri-Party Agreement deadlines, he said. Inslee, who served one term as 4th District congressman before Republican Doc Hastings defeated him in 1994, is running for re-election in the Seattle-based 1st District. Tuesday in Yakima, Inslee was asked if he was considering running for statewide office. He reiterated Wednesday in Richland that statewide office "is something I might explore, but that's way off in the future." He declined to say what office he might consider. In 1996, Inslee ran in the Democrat primary for governor but drew only 10 percent of the vote. "The fact I ran for governor in 1996 is no secret, although it may have been at that time," he said. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 40 Fluor Fernald begins layoffs - 2002-08-22 - Cincinnati Business Courier Saturday, Aug 23, 2002 14:30 EDT Thursday Fluor Fernald said it has begun notifying 75 salaried employees that their positions have been eliminated as the project comes closer to its completion date. Since 1992, the company has been cleaning up the former Fernald uranium processing facility located in Crosby Township, about 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati. When the layoffs were first announced, Fluor Fernald said the move would better align its work force with the amount of work to be done at the site. Flour Fernald said the layoffs will come mostly from administrative personnel, including the maintenance, project controls, information records and public affairs departments. This round follows two voluntary and one involuntary series of job cuts. Fluor Fernald said that 225 salaried positions have been eliminated since October, leaving 1,500 employees at the site. The company also said it would continue to adjust staffing levels until the project's completion in 2006. Copyright 2002 American City Business Journals ***************************************************************** 41 Accelerated cleanup's collateral damage The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Friday, August 23, 2002 by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff There may be no finer example of the conflict between two Department of Energy initiatives than Building K-1401. Housed within that half-million-square-foot edifice residing at the K-25 site at the west end of Oak Ridge are three companies that were lured to locate there, then nurtured to grow through the DOE reindustrialization program. One company has recently terminated its lease and the other two must relocate should another DOE initiative, the accelerated cleanup program, go forward as planned. One official calls the possible fallout "collateral damage." "These companies are keepers, we have given them an attractive environment to start and grow, and they are right now in a growth mode -- if they were to pick up and leave the region I would consider that a failure, a tremendous loss," said Jeff Deardorff, vice president of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, in a recent interview at the K-25 site. "I would call that collateral damage." The companies, Dienamic Tooling Systems, Infrared Technology and Philotechnics, occupy about one-fourth of the space inside K-1401, a premier industrial draw slated for a take-down decision in fiscal year 2004. Leases for Dienamic Tooling and Infrared extend well beyond that time frame, leaving Deardorff to come up with a contingency plan acceptable to both the companies and to DOE. Ultimately it's the company's decision whether to terminate relationships with the reindustrialization program. Alternatives include building a new facility on about 20 acres of Parcel 3, property at the K-25 site scheduled for transfer to CROET sometime in the next 18 months; finding other space for relocation at K-25 or within the region; awaiting slippage of the DOE accelerated cleanup deadlines; or kissing the companies goodbye. Mike Walker, president of Dienamic Tooling, which makes sheet metal stamping dies for the automotive industry, said Wednesday that reindustrialization had nurtured the company to its current high-growth mode, and that leaving K-1401 would be a hardship, though long term the group wants to relocate outside the fence to ease customer access. "The building is very suitable for our business," said Walker. "Right now the situation has left us kind of up in the air, but Jeff (Deardorff) is working diligently to help us. Preferably we'd like to stay within a ten-mile radius of where we are now." Philotechnics recently terminated its lease, and re-filling that space is unlikely given the building's planned demise. That type of fallout escalates with the loss of potential tenants. Deardorff, who stresses that the accelerated cleanup is likely necessary and a worthwhile initiative, said there are four prospects who want inside building K-1401. "It would not be a good business decision for them to locate here for two years," said Deardorff. "And though we would make the space available for the short term, we are more interested in the long-term tenants. "The accelerated cleanup program, while a worthy mission, makes the crystal ball a little foggy as to reindustrialization," said Deardorff. U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, said Thursday that he doesn't think the two programs are mutually exclusive, and that he has been assured by the DOE that reindustrialization still has support. "I hope we can do both," said Wamp, who has been a strong supporter of reindustrialization and just this week announced a $1.4 million DOE grant to CROET to further those efforts. "I want the cleanup to be done sooner rather than later Š but I am also positive there are a whole host of assets that do not have to be taken down to green field condition to get them back into use." Gerald Boyd, Oak Ridge Operations assistant manager for the environmental management program, said this morning that the two programs are working together to ensure both thrive. "It's an advantage to us for reindustrialization to occur to the degree it can," said Boyd. "We're planning to clean the entire East Tennessee Technology Park complex and if we're able to reutilize a number of those buildings it saves us money that we don't have to spend to dismantle and dispose of them." Boyd noted the cleanup scheudule would continue to be worked, but with the hope that CROET can find tenants. "If they are sucessful we can take some of those buildings off the schedule." The Oak Ridge City Council felt the threat to reindustrialization strong enough to pass a resolution and authorize a letter to the federal agency imploring it not to give up on the program. The city "strongly" recommended "reindustrialization as the preferred path forward in cleaning up unusable DOE-Oak Ridge facilities for private sector use." Other local governments such as Kingsport, Maryville, Oliver Springs, Anderson and Roane counties and the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership followed suit at Oak Ridge's request. Mayor David Bradshaw said Thursday: "Generally accelerated cleanup will be helpful, you can't deny that. The sooner the DOE can relase that site out of their control the better, and we have to support that. But there will be challenges with existing companies and we will need to work those issues as we go." Susan Gawarecki, executive director of the Local Oversight Committee, which keeps an eye on DOE environmental activities, said that shifting missions is pretty much status quo for DOE. "It's symptomatic of DOE's inconsistency to steer a course according to which administration is in office. Every administration seems to want to put its mark on the EM (environmental management) program." Reindustrialization began full force in 1996 with tenant occupation of the site fluctuating between 35 and 40 companies leasing space through CROET. As of Aug. 1 there were 37 CROET tenants on site employing 415 workers. Each year the CROET lease program has seen net growth of five or six tenants, but year-to-date that figure has slid to a net growth of one tenant, and a net gain of about 13,500 square feet of building space leased. CROET leases more than 1 million square feet at Heritage Center from the DOE, but could take over as much as 600,000 additional square feet in three buildings in the next 12 months. The ambitious goal of reindustrialization was to clean up the former gaseous diffusion site at reduced cost to the government and to mitigate federal downsizing while diversifying the local economy. Accelerated cleanup, also slated to save the government money, aims to identify and reduce the greatest health risks on a fast track (see related story). DOE's Oak Ridge Operations office committed to the accelerated cleanup program in March. R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 42 Will cleanup be sacrificed for acceleration? The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Friday, August 23, 2002 by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff Does accelerated cleanup mean less cleanup? Jesse Roberson, Department of Energy assistant secretary for environmental management, says absolutely not. "I understand there is that concern but I can assure you that isn't our intent," said Roberson in a phone interview Thursday. "Accelerating the cleanup isn't short-cutting the cleanup, it isn't doing less workŠ that's not what accelerated cleanup is all about. "It's about doing the right thing at the right time in an environmentally regulatory and responsible way." However, there's a growing concern in energy communities that more waste will be left on site at a cost to the community in long-term stewardship. "It's becoming more and more evident that the price we pay for the accelerated cleanup proposal for Oak Ridge (is) Š radioactive material remaining on site for hundreds of thousands of years," Oak Ridge City Council member Jerry Kuhaida said at Monday's council meeting. Kuhaida chairs the national Energy Communities Alliance, and brought home a broad perspective from the recent ECA Long-Term Stewardship Peer Exchange Program held in Boulder, Colo. The ECA is made up of communities located adjacent to U.S. Department of Energy nuclear facilities across the country. Kuhaida said Wednesday that the program "pushes into a corner" communities such as Oak Ridge that fight the "glow in the dark" image. "The local communities are stuck with that image," said Kuhaida. "Now we are pushed into a corner of having to get things done at reduced cost and bring them to a real short-term conclusion, when the technology might not yet be in place. And if we end up leaving those things in the ground, the problem becomes maintaining an awareness of that through future generations." "The basic problem is that if cleanup is done faster and for less money, it probably can't be done completely," said Ellen Smith, who chairs the city's Environmental Quality Advisory Board. Smith cites as example the DOE Oak Ridge Operations high priority of cleaning the Melton Valley waste burial grounds at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "I'm pretty sure the plan for doing Melton Valley fast would mean less cleanup," said Smith. "The plan will reduce the risk but it doesn't really solve the problem in the long term because we have to maintain the cap and continue to treat the water." Cleanup at Melton Valley calls for capping waste cells and collecting and treating the water. "Somebody has to pay for the continued action," said Smith. "The cleanup may be cheaper, but the long-term stewardship cost may be higher." Roberson said that cleaning Melton Valley would reduce the risks at the site, and achieve that several years earlier than planned. DOE expects its Melton Valley plan would result in improvements to water quality in the Clinch River, the restoration of 7 acres of wetlands and the removal of 204 casks of transuranic waste, which are considered some of the most dangerous wastes in Oak Ridge. Under the accelerated work plan, the Melton Valley completion date would shift from 2014 to 2006, with the total cleanup cost dropping from $350 million to $240 million. Gerald Boyd, assistant manager for local environmental management, said this morning that the DOE is looking for a balance between risk and cost. "Granted there will be continued long-term stewardship costs," said Boyd. "But the other side of the coin is the cost of cleaning Melton Valley to green field probably far out-weighs the cost of long-term stewardship. "We have to find a balance between risk and cost to remediate on the front end or provide stewardship on back end, and I think we've probably got about the right balance." Another concern for energy communities is that efforts might be made to reclassify high-level nuclear waste that would allow for a lower standard of cleanup. In fact, on Aug. 9 a federal judge in Boise, Idaho, denied the DOE's attempt to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the agency gave itself the authority to reclassify high-level nuclear waste, in essence allowing it to leave the waste in place at the Savannah River site near Aiken, S.C., the Hanford site in Washington and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, according to National Resources Defense Council documents. "The (DOE) would like to accelerate cleanup," said National Resources Defense Council attorney Geoffrey Fettus in a written statement. "We would like the cleanup to take less time, but not by stashing thousands of tons of the nation's most radioactive waste under a concrete cap in leaky tanks Š . " Then there's the concern that while high-risk sites are cleaned first, technology might not be there to do the job. Bechtel Jacobs, DOE's cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, took a fair bit of criticism for not attacking the tough cleanup problems first. "Historically in Oak Ridge the easy cleanups were being done first and the hard cleanups deferred to the future, and I think part of that was in hopes that new ideas would emerge," said Smith. "But the general thrust of accelerated cleanup seems to say we have the technology now to do the hard cleanups fast, and it's not clear that's the case. Likely accelerated cleanup means not waiting for new technology that would address some of the more difficult problems." Kuhaida noted that, in light of accelerated cleanup, energy communities around the country are focusing on how best to maintain records in an effort to "look out for future generations." "We have to have what it takes in administrative controls," said Kuhaida. "The physical impacts on us now becomes a big issue." The other high risk priority slated for local accelerated cleanup is the Oak Ridge K-25 site, which was built in the 1940s to enrich uranium for use in nuclear weapons. The accelerated cleanup proposal calls for the quick disposal of legacy waste at K-25, the demolition of buildings and the development of a plan for reindustrialization (see related story). R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 43 ORNL groundbreaking The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Friday, August 23, 2002 Ground was broken Thursday for the $10 million Joint Institute for Computational Sciences and the Oak Ridge Center for Advanced Studies at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Research at the institute is expected to bring the United States into competition with Japan's Earth Simulator. Pictured from left, Lt. Gov. John Wilder, ORNL director Bill Madia, University of Tennessee President John Shumaker, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, and Gov. Don Sundquist. The venture is a joint-partnership between the state, ORNL and UT. [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 44 DOE Awards $1.4 Million Grant to the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee Grant Will Fund Multiple Initiatives to Aid Former Workers of the Oak Ridge Site energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release August 22, 2002 The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $1.4 million in the form of a competitive grant to the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET). CROET is the community reuse organization for the department's Oak Ridge site. "The Energy Department is a good neighbor to the communities surrounding our sites," Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said. "We will continue to work with the CROET and other community reuse organizations around the country, to retain, expand or create jobs for workers affected by restructuring efforts." The CROET applied for funding from the department's Office of Worker and Community Transition in the form of a competitive grant. The CROET's application is a re-submittal of the Work Force Transition grant entitled East Tennessee 2002 (ET2002). This $1.4 million grant will be used for the following: reindustrialization and reuse to continue to enhance and market the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) and the ED-1 industrial park; provide advanced training for former workers of the Oak Ridge site at the Manufacturing Skills Campus; continue research at the National Transportation Research Center that focuses on solving the nation's transportation problems; and develop regional economic diversification and work force development initiatives to allow communities to prioritize economic development efforts, recruit new industries, and create industrial parks. The grant is expected to create 120 new jobs for displaced Oak Ridge workers and other community members over the next two to three years. Media Contact: Dolline Hatchett, 202/586-5806 Release No. PR-02-165 ***************************************************************** 45 DOE Awards $1.1 Million to Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization Funds Will be Used to Build a "World Class" Manufacturing Complex energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: August 22, 2002 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $1.1 million in the form of competitive grants to the Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization (PACRO). PACRO is the community reuse organization (CRO) for the Department's site in Paducah, Kentucky. "The Energy Department is a good neighbor to the communities surrounding our sites," Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said. "We will continue to work with the PACRO and other community reuse organizations around the country, to retain, expand or create jobs for workers affected by restructuring efforts." The PACRO applied for funding from the department's Office of Worker and Community Transition in the form of competitive grants. Each CRO can apply for funds under the Small Capital Program (small cap) up to $200,000 and/or the Large Capital Program (large cap) up to one million dollars. The PACRO applied for one large cap and two small cap grants. The large cap grant of $1 million will prepare a major industrial site in Western Kentucky for use as a "world class" integrated manufacturing complex. Specifically, the funds will be spent on engineering, infrastructure and land planning. The first small cap grant of $50,000 will support start-up of CenterPointe USA, a regional economic development-marketing program for Western Kentucky-Southeast Illinois. The second small cap grant in the amount of $30,000 will provide support to a workforce outplacement, training, and re-employment assistance program. The goal of CenterPointe is the creation of 500 new jobs in the region over the next five years. Media Contact: Dolline Hatchett, 202/586-5806 Release No. PR-02-166 ***************************************************************** 46 DOE Cites Hanford Contractors for Price Anderson Safety Violations energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: August 22, 2002 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Preliminary Notice of Violation and proposed civil penalty of $137,500 to Fluor Hanford Inc., a contractor at the DOE Hanford site in Richland, Washington, for violations of nuclear safety rules and procedures during waste characterization activities at the Hanford site. The violations did not result in actual harm to workers or the public. DOE took this action because, if not corrected, the violations could have led to improper burial of transuranic waste at the Hanford site. Transuranic waste, the discarded byproducts of nuclear weapons production, are required to be buried at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Fluor Hanford Inc. provided technical support for the waste characterization activities under an agreement with Bechtel Hanford Inc., the prime contractor for the activity that is responsible for quality performance of all work under the contract. A less severe violation with no associated civil penalty was also issued to Bechtel Hanford. Both contractors have taken corrective actions to address the violations. The Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 authorizes the Energy Department to undertake regulatory enforcement actions against contractors for violations of its nuclear safety requirements. The enforcement program is designed to have contractors correct procedural violations to prevent more serious events from occurring. Additional details on this and other enforcement actions are available on the Internet at http://www.eh.doe.gov/enforce [http://www.eh.doe.gov/enforce] . Media Contact: Dolline Hatchett, 202/586-5806 Release No. PR-02-167 ***************************************************************** 47 Duratek Federal Services to have new chief Sept. 1 This story was published Thu, Aug 22, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer Bill Van Dyke is scheduled to become the new president of Duratek Federal Services, the umbrella corporation for several Duratek operations at Hanford. Van Dyke, senior vice president at Duratek Federal for seven years, will replace Tom Dabrowski, who will become parent Duratek Inc.'s senior vice president for corporate strategic planning. The switch becomes effective Sept. 1. Maryland-based Duratek Inc. has been recovering in 2002 from a year of ultra-tight cash flow problems in 2001. "Now is the right time to further enhance our focus on the long-term growth and future of the company," said Robert Prince, Duratek Inc.'s president in a news release. "Tom Dabrowski brings the experience, knowledge and track record of business expansion that we need to accelerate our strategic planning efforts. In addition, Bill Van Dyke has the background, proven capabilities and demonstrated leadership skills to ensure our federal business continues to deliver (a) strong performance." California-based Duratek Federal has satellite companies in Richland employing about 200 people. These companies manage a huge central Hanford landfill for contaminated rubble, design melters for Hanford's tank waste glassification project, remove some contaminated soil from the Columbia River shore area, plus study, pack and ship some Hanford wastes. Duratek Hanford is a major subcontractor of Fluor Hanford. That company is trying to find ways to deal with Hanford's mixed radioactive and chemical wastes, Dabrowski said. The Department of Energy has a nationwide problem with mixed wastes because the technology to neutralize those wastes is extremely limited. DOE had hoped that Allied Technology Group's Richland plant would have dealt with Hanford's mixed wastes. But ATG is going through Chapter 11 reorganization because of major financial and technological problems. One of Duratek Hanford's jobs is to find solutions to Hanford's mixed-waste dilemma. Dabrowski speculated that Duratek might end up acting as a broker to send various segments of mixed wastes to niche companies for processing and disposal. Duratek Technical Services was created in 1996 as a Hanford spin-off company. Last February, Duratek Technical Services signed a three-year contract -- with options to renew for a fourth and fifth year -- with Fluor to continue its work on studying, packing and shipping certain types of Hanford wastes, as well as designing, budgeting and testing waste packages. Duratek Technical also does other work for other Hanford contractors. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************