***************************************************************** 12/23/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.331 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 [radiation-survivors] Russia Says Bush to Blame for North Korea 2 NK Opens Spent Fuel Rod Store 3 US Urges NK to Reinstall Surveillance Equipment at Nuclear Facilitie 4 Washington's Concerns Raised on Fuel Rods 5 US: MOU between nrc, dhhs, and fda 6 Further Disruption of IAEA Safeguards Implementation in the DPRK 7 DPRK Interferes with IAEA Safeguards Equipment - 8 [EDITORIALS]A step closer to the brink* 9 UNMOVIC/IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq 10 US: Major base closing on horizon 11 What Lies in Yongbyon Pond? 12 N. Korea Open to Settling 'Nuclear Issue' 13 US: Nuclear safeguard funds requested 14 Concern rises here over broken seals* 15 Iraq 'ready to cooperate' and to let CIA agents in* 16 North Korea Says It Regains Access to Its Plutonium 17 U.N. Deplores N. Korea's Nuclear Stance 18 Pyongyang ratchets up nuke tensions 19 US, Allies Push to Stop N.Korea Nuclear Move* 20 Korea Asserts Itself South Korea's new President 21 US: UofPenn FONSI 22 US: NRC banning order of John Bilinksy NUCLEAR REACTORS 23 Suspension of Light Water Reactor Project Considered 24 Chernobyl children arrive in Ireland for Christmas* 25 US: NRC Issues Supplement to Final Generic Environmental Impact 26 Iran, Russia agree deal on nuclear plant* 27 US: Vt. Yankee power proposal contested 28 US: US nuke power plants safe from air strike-industry 29 US: US nuke power plants safe from air strike-industry 30 Bruce Energy deal powers TSX rally 31 Bruce Energy deal powers TSX rally 32 British Energy sells Bruce Power stake 33 British Energy sells Bruce Power stake NUCLEAR SAFETY 34 US: Team finds troubling practices 35 US: Hazards at Iowa Army Ammunition Plant 36 US: Plant brought jobs, then questions NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 37 [radiation-survivors] Yucca Mountain 38 AU: Premier tells PM: don't railroad us on nuclear waste dump - 39 AU: McGauran trades nuclear blasts 40 AU: Greens, ALP slam radioactive waste dump - 41 Proposed nuclear dump called terror 'bull's-eye' 42 US: Cleanup plan for Shootraring Canyon Unranium Project 43 Yucca Mountain Update, Dec 23, 2002 NUCLEAR WEAPONS 44 US: Las Vegas Protest March 45 IAEA's inspectors are interviewing Iraqi scientists 46 US, UK lies exposed: Iraq * US DEPT. OF ENERGY 47 DOE, State of Washington Reach Agreement on Management of Waste 48 NNSA Implements Reorganization 49 DOE Issues Annual Environmental Report For Portsmouth Plant 50 Plant brought jobs, then questions OTHER NUCLEAR 51 Underground opportunity: The Quecreek accident restored interest ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 [radiation-survivors] Russia Says Bush to Blame for North Korea Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 21:55:33 -0600 (CST) http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=1954736 Mon December 23, 2002 02:42 PM ET By Andrei Shukshin MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia accused President Bush on Monday of having ignited a crisis over North Korea by antagonizing the nuclear-capable Stalinist state and playing on its dire economic situation. Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov said Bush was to blame for North Korea's erratic policies, including steps to unfreeze its nuclear program, because of his decision to brand it part of his "axis of evil" of hostile nations. "How should a small country feel when it is told that it is all but part of forces of evil of biblical proportions and should be fought against until total annihilation?" Mamedov told the Vremya Novostei daily newspaper. Russia's Foreign Ministry Monday expressed Moscow's official regret over Pyongyang's statement at the weekend that it had begun removing U.N. monitoring equipment at a nuclear reactor capable of yielding weapons-grade plutonium. In Washington, the State Department called the suggestion that Bush was to blame for Pyongyang's behavior "absurd" and noted that Mamedov's assessment contrasted with the official reaction from the Russian Foreign Ministry. "That's totally absurd," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker told reporters. "North Korea has taken its actions ... North Korea is the country responsible for deepening its isolation with (its) recent actions." But Mamedov made clear that he believed the blame lay with Bush in some of the sharpest comments Russia has made against the United States since it joined Washington's war on terror after last year's September 11 attacks. "There is no use expecting countries included in the 'axis of evil' to remain passive. By reacting they may naturally break certain international agreements," said Mamedov. "But it would be unfair to blame them for spurring the whole crisis. The responsibility should be shared by those who launch a campaign of intimidation and those who see it as a pretext to violate international agreements." Russia preaches cooperation as the best way to tempt Pyongyang out of its isolation and has built a pragmatic relationship with the North after a decade of coolness that marked the end of fraternal ties of the Soviet era. WEST URGES NORTH KOREA TO STEP BACK The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed concern at North Korea's weekend move and the West urged Pyongyang to step back and cooperate fully with the IAEA. In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry said it hoped Pyongyang would pursue its ties with the IAEA and stick to its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. It also called on all parties concerned to show restraint and keep up a dialogue. Mamedov said the move by North Korea, an impoverished communist state short of food and fuel oil, should have come as no surprise to the United States. "Blackmailing North Korea with its difficult economic situation is counter-productive, it is dangerous," he said. Pyongyang has accused Washington and its allies of triggering the crisis. Under a 1994 deal with the United States, North Korea froze its reactors in exchange for shipments of oil and the construction of proliferation-proof reactors. The United States, South Korea, Japan and the European Union halted oil supplies after Washington said the North had admitted defying the 1994 agreement, and other international commitments, with a program to develop highly-enriched uranium. A Russian nuclear arms expert said Monday that Pyongyang possibly had enough plutonium to make several low-yield nuclear bombs, but still faced major problems in making them work. "North Korea lacks the necessary technology to build certain components, such as detonators to explode nuclear devices, and some others," Sergei Kazennov, of the Institute of World Economy and International relations, told Itar-Tass news agency. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: radiation-survivors-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com ----- Are you looking for a good computer help list? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComputersForSeniors/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 2 NK Opens Spent Fuel Rod Store Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English Updated Dec.23,2002 16:21 KST by Kim Yeon-kuk (yk-kim@chosun.com) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced Monday (KST) that following North Korea's opening of seals on its 5MW nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, it has proceeded to remove seals on the storage facility for 8,000 spent fuel rods there, and surveillance cameras. The IAEA estimated that 25kg of plutonium 239 could be extracted from the rods, which were sealed and monitored from 1994. Mohammed El Baradei, secretary general of the agency, said the action by Pyongyang was dangerous and it failure to respond to IAEA demands was deplorable. The North Korean Central News Agency (NKCNA) announced the moves on Sunday. An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade expressed deep regret again at the news, saying it heightened tension on the peninsula and international society's concerns on proliferation. He said the government had urged the North to reseal all nuclear related facilities and comply with its international agreements. Deputy Minister Lee Tae-shik met with US Charges d' affaires Evans Revere and called for international cooperation to solve the problem. ***************************************************************** 3 US Urges NK to Reinstall Surveillance Equipment at Nuclear Facilities Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English Updated Dec.23,2002 16:03 KST In response to North Korea's removal of the seals and surveillance cameras at its nuclear facilities, the United States is urging the Stalinist state to reseal its nuclear reactors. Regarding the issue, US Secretary of State Colin Powell made emergency calls to foreign ministers of South Korea, China, Russia and Japan over the weekend to discuss ways to resolve the nuclear tension on the Korean peninsula. Experts say however, the nuclear crisis could get worse as it is very unlikely for Washington to engage in talks with Pyongyang. They add the North's move is seen as a desperate attempt to get the US to continue its fuel oil deliveries to the energy-strapped state, suspended from December. As the State Department collects more information to draw up measures early this week, experts say Washington is likely to cooperate closely with its friends and allies in Asia, to urge Pyongyang to get back under the international supervision. US officials are not ruling out the possibility of halting construction of two energy-providing light water reactors in North Korea, and taking the matter to the United Nations Security Council. (Arirang TV) ***************************************************************** 4 Washington's Concerns Raised on Fuel Rods Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English Updated Dec.23,2002 17:44 KST by Kang In-sun (insun@chosun.com) WASHINGTON - The United States government expressed serious concern Sunday (local time) on North Korea's removal of almost all cameras and seals installed at the 5MW nuclear reactor site in Yongbyon, with several senate members insisting that currently, North Korea is a larger threat to the US than Iraq. Senator Joseph Biden of the Democratic Party and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee appeared on Fox TV and said the recent actions of North Korea are immediately a bigger danger to the US's interests than Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq. "If North Korea removes the seals and activates procedures to extract plutonium, they will be able to make four or five additional nuclear weapons in the next few months." Republican Senator Richard Lugar, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asserted that the US government must have a firm attitude in dealing with North Korean problems. "We cannot continue our current attitude by saying we won't talk with them until North Korea does things right. We can't keep saying that they're bad," he pointed out in an interview with CNN on Sunday. "We must continue talks with South Korea, Japan, and North Korea and become deeply involved in this problem," he claimed. ***************************************************************** 5 MOU between nrc, dhhs, and fda FR Doc 02-32245 [Federal Register: December 23, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 246)] [Notices] [Page 78262] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23de02-100] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Memorandum of Understanding Between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of renewal of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (DHHS, FDA). SUMMARY: The NRC and the DHHS, FDA, signed a MOU on August 26, 1993, which describes the roles of the FDA and NRC, and the coordination between the two agencies. The MOU was noticed in the Federal Register on September 8, 1993 (58 FR 47300). This notice announces the renewal of the MOU, with Minor Changes. The latest version of the MOU can be found on the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov/materials/medical.html). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Thomas H. Essig, Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, MS T 8-F-5, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone (301) 415-7231. Dated: December 13, 2002. Thomas H. Essig, Chief, Materials Safety and Inspection Branch, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, NMSS. [FR Doc. 02-32245 Filed 12-20-02; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 6 Further Disruption of IAEA Safeguards Implementation in the DPRK - IAEA Press Release 02/23 For full coverage, see the pages on IAEA:DPRK. Vienna, 22 December, 2002 - The DPRK has taken further action today to disrupt the operation of IAEA safeguards equipment at the Nyongbyong site. Seals in the 5MW(e) reactor's spent fuel pond containing some 8,000 irradiated fuel rods have been removed by the DPRK, and the functioning of essential surveillance equipment has been impeded. "As the spent fuel contains a significant amount of plutonium, the DPRK's action is of great non proliferation concern and represents a further disruption of the IAEA's ability to apply safeguards in the DPRK", said the IAEA's Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei. "Such containment and surveillance equipment plays an essential role in allowing the IAEA to confirm under the Safeguards Agreement with the DPRK pursuant to the Non Proliferation Treaty that nuclear material in the fuel rods has not been diverted to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices". The Director General has been urging the DPRK over the last few weeks not to take any unilateral action, allow the implementation of IAEA surveillance and containment measures and agree to an early meeting to discuss how the IAEA can safeguard the facilities that were subject to a freeze under the 1994 US-DPRK Agreed Framework as they become operational. ElBaradei said, "It is deplorable that the DPRK has not responded to repeated requests I have made to DPRK for an urgently needed discussion on safeguards issues in the DPRK in order for the DPRK to come into compliance with its NPT Safeguards Agreement." Dr ElBaradei said that the Agency's Secretariat is continuing to monitor closely the situation and is apprising the Chairman of the Agency's Board of Governors and its members of the evolving situation. Contact: Mark Gwozdecky, Tel: (+43 1) 2600-21270, e-mail: M.Gwozdecky@iaea.org, Mobile: (+43 ) 664-226-9239. ***************************************************************** 7 DPRK Interferes with IAEA Safeguards Equipment - IAEA Press Release 02/22 For full coverage, see the pages on IAEA:DPRK. Vienna, 21 December, 2002 - The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei expressed "deep regret" at the DPRK's actions of December 21 to cut most of the seals and impede the functioning of surveillance equipment installed at the 5MW(e) reactor at Nyongbyong. On 12 December 2002, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) informed the IAEA that it would restart its nuclear facilities at Nyonbyong - the operations of which had been stopped as part of the USA-DPRK Agreed Framework of 1994. These actions were taken by the DPRK in spite of repeated IAEA appeals that they take no unilateral action to implement lifting of 'freeze' until the IAEA had the necessary safeguards measures in place to ensure the continuity of safeguards. In a letter to Mr. Ri Je Son, Director General of the DPRK's General Department of Atomic Energy, Dr. ElBaradei requested the DPRK not to take any further unilateral actions. He said that the DPRK's actions "prevented an orderly transition from IAEA monitoring of the freeze of the reactor to a situation where we would be monitoring the facility during its operation. I have requested that the DPRK authorities allow immediately our inspectors to apply the necessary containment and surveillance measures and, in particular, that the DPRK not operate the reactor before the necessary safeguards measures are in place". The Director General called on the DPRK for restraint, and to respect fully their obligations not to operate any nuclear facility in the DPRK without the required safeguards measures in place. A legally binding Safeguards Agreement between the DPRK and the IAEA, pursuant to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, has been in place since 1992. The IAEA continues to maintain a permanent inspector presence in the DPRK and is monitoring the situation very closely. Contact: Mark Gwozdecky, Tel: (+43 1) 2600-21270, e-mail: M.Gwozdecky@iaea.org, Mobile: (+43 ) 664-226-9239. ***************************************************************** 8 [EDITORIALS]A step closer to the brink* December 24, 2002 North Korea has removed the seals from its nuclear fuel rod storage site a day after breaking other seals and disabling surveillance cameras at the Yeongbyeon nuclear reactor site. If the North goes a step further to start reprocessing the spent nuclear fuel, it would signal the beginning of a truly dangerous situation. The North's actions have blatantly contradicted its justification for unfreezing its nuclear program; it had said the step was necessary to generate electrical power after the United States suspended the shipment of fuel oil for its power plants. Reprocessing of nuclear fuel can lead to the manufacture of nuclear weapons. If the North reprocesses the 8,000 nuclear fuel rods it has, it could make three to six nuclear weapons. The North is about to drop its last fig leaf, the argument that the United States is imagining things when it claims that the North has continued its nuclear program. It appears more likely that it had nuclear ambitions all along. The step also goes further than just a renunciation of the 1994 Agreed Framework it signed with the United States and a break with its multilateral commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The United Nations Security Council could now move to seek international sanctions against the North. Because even Russia and China, Pyeongyang's traditional allies, oppose the North's nuclear program, it faces further isolation. We do not know if the North's attempts to get security assurances from the United States will push it to the next step of actually reprocessing the nuclear fuel, and Washington does not seem to want to budge. South Korea is in the most serious situation of all, and it is President-elect Roh Moo-hyun specifically who is on the hot seat. Mr. Roh, who pledged to continue President Kim Dae-jung's policy of engagement with the North, is caught between the pressure being exerted by both Washington and Pyeongyang. The North should understand that Mr. Roh is relatively sympathetic to its plight and give him the opportunity to mediate between itself and Washington once he takes office. The future of inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation depends on it. ¨Ï 2002 JoongAng Ilbo , Joins.com . All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 UNMOVIC/IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq Media Advisory 2002/61 - 22 December 2002 [www.iaea.org] Media Advisory 2002/64 (22 December 2002) News Update on Iraq Inspections For full coverage, see the pages on IAEA and Iraq. 22 December 2002 -- One UNMOVIC team of missile inspectors inspected the Al Battanee Centre (Baghdad Space Research and Development Centre) in Baghdad. This center is a scientific group, which does space technology, space optics, atmospheric studies and remote sensing. Al Battanee provides the telemetry systems for the Al Samoud missile system. Another missile team inspected the site of the Taji Technical Battalion, located 40 km north of Baghdad. The site belongs to the Iraqi military. It is a missile storage area and a former Scud dumpsite. An UNMOVIC chemical team inspected the Al Nahrawan site, which is part of the Al Basil Company. This facility consists of several pilot plants involved in the production of some chemicals, mainly on request from other companies. This site was previously declared to be using dual-use equipment and chemicals. An UNMOVIC biological team inspected the Al Kindi Company for the Production of Veterinary Vaccines in Abu Ghraib, 43 km northwest of Baghdad. It is a mixed sector company, partially owned by the Ministry of Agriculture and partially privately owned. This was a previously declared and monitored site. It produces a variety of viral and bacterial veterinary vaccines, using basic glassware and techniques. The IAEA inspected three sites: the Mansour State Company, the Farabi Computer Centre, and the Tahrir Institue of Welding Technology. The Mansour State Company is an electronics factory subordinate to the Military Industrialization Corporation (MIC) that produces piece components (such as transistors and diodes) and some finished electrical goods for the Iraqi military and civilian sectors. It also produces industrial gases and purified water. The Farabi Computer Centre is a branch of the Al Kwarzi Company. It specializes in programming computers for business applications and provides contract services for documentation, archiving, and data processing services. The Tahrir Institute of Welding Technology is a teaching institution in the MIC structure. It prepares secondary school graduates to be welders in a two-year academic programme. Hiro Ueki Spokesman for UNMOVIC and the IAEA in Baghdad ***************************************************************** 10 Major base closing on horizon Casper, Wyoming - Tuesday, December 24, 2002 WASHINGTON (AP) -- If Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has his way, the 2005 round of military base closures will see as much surplus infrastructure cut as the previous four rounds combined, a top aide says. Raymond DuBois, the deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, gave no specific figures and stressed that no military bases would be exempted in advance from potential closure. "All installations are on the table," DuBois told reporters Friday. "All installations are going to be judged equally." Wyoming has one military installation: F.E. Warren Air Force Base adjacent to Cheyenne. It has survived recent rounds of base closings because of its role in missile defense. Warren oversees and maintains 150 Minuteman III missiles although the base is dismantling 50 Peacekeepers as part of a nuclear weapons reduction treaty with Russia. In the previous four rounds -- in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995 -- the Pentagon picked 97 major domestic bases for closure, 55 major bases for realignment and 235 minor installations either to be closed or realigned. DuBois said all senior military and civilian leaders in the Pentagon will have a voice in recommending which bases get closed or realigned. He said this was a cumbersome but necessary approach. "There are a lot of cooks in the kitchen, but I didn't know any other way to do it" to meet Rumsfeld's goal of achieving as much infrastructure reduction in the 2005 decisions as was achieved in all four previous rounds, DuBois said. The decisions will be particularly difficult this time because of the intended scale of reductions and in part because the Pentagon also will try to consolidate forces from more than one service on the same bases, he said. This cross-service approach, put to limited use in the past, will be pushed harder. DuBois estimated that the 2005 base-closing actions will cost the Pentagon between $10 billion and $20 billion over four to six years. That includes the cost of repairing environmental damage. By 2011, however, the savings should exceed the costs, and for every year beyond that the Pentagon will have a net saving of $6.5 billion, he said. The secretary of defense must submit to a Base Closure and Realignment Commission his list of recommended closings and realignments by May 16, 2005. The commission must submit its decisions to the president by Sept. 8, 2005. Congress then must approve or reject the president's list without change. Notes: Original wire story (w0977): Headline: "All installations are on the table," DuBois told reporters Friday. "All installations are going to be judged equally." Copyright © 2002 by the Casper Star-Tribune published by Lee ***************************************************************** 11 What Lies in Yongbyon Pond? KoreaTimes : Hankooki.com > Korea Times > Nation By Seo Soo-min Staff Reporter The North Korean nuclear crisis has reached new heights with Pyongyang having unsealed a storage chamber containing 8,000 irradiated fuel rods Sunday. If the North opens the fuel pond in Yongbyon, it would mean a dangerous step towards crossing the ``red line'' set by the international community. The danger lies in the fact that the fuel rods, weighing some 50 tons, can yield 28-35 kg of weapons-grade plutonium if reprocessed, enough to make four to six nuclear warheads, according to statistics at the Defense Ministry. The whole process would take less than one year, the ministry said. Turning the plutonium into nuclear warheads, if a country has the technical know-how, takes only seven to 10 days. Suspicions that Pyongyang already possesses enough plutonium to produce one or two warheads have not been confirmed. Currently, about 10 seals hanging above the 400 aluminum cans in the spent fuel pond have been broken, and surveillance cameras have been disabled. The cans holding the still-hot rods, however, have not yet been opened. If the North were to reprocess the rods, it would have to open the cans and take the contents to the nearby radiochemical laboratory. The site is one of the five nuclear-related facilities frozen by the Agreed Framework that North Korea and the U.S. signed in 1994 to defuse the nuclear crisis at the time. The Agreed Framework stipulates that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) be allowed to monitor the freeze. The IAEA has maintained a continuous presence in Yongbyon since 1994 to verify its implementation. The facilities subject to the pact are the 5-megawatt reactor, the radiochemical laboratory for reprocessing, the fuel fabrication plant and the partially built 50 and 200 kilowatt nuclear power plants. The main corridors leading to the frozen facilities had been sealed, and hundreds of surveillance cameras took pictures every five minutes. Two inspectors are currently in Yongbyon. So far, North Korea has not indicated it will expel the IAEA inspectors from Yongbyon, a move which experts say could mark the end of the whole IAEA process in the North. Officials in Seoul said the North's latest move is particularly worrisome since it is unrelated to the energy crisis Pyongyang cited as a reason for resuming its nuclear program following the cutoff in oil supplies from the U.S. It reflects Pyongyang's dire need to resume dialogue with Washington on its own terms, they added. ``There's a world of difference in the thinking here, from North Korea which views the nuclear issue as a means of survival by getting the world to listen to it, to the U.S. which sees the issue from a global perspective, as part of its non-proliferation efforts,'' a senior government official said on condition of anonymity yesterday. He forecast North Korea will approach the spent fuel rod issue carefully, since it knows reprocessing them would mean crossing the red line. ssm@koreatimes.co.kr 12-23-2002 17:15 ***************************************************************** 12 N. Korea Open to Settling 'Nuclear Issue' Las Vegas SUN: December 23, 2002 By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA ASSOCIATED PRESS SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said Monday the "nuclear issue" could be settled if Washington signs a nonaggression treaty with it. North Korea's appeal for a deal, a day after it began removing U.N. seals and tampering with surveillance equipment at frozen nuclear facilities, suggests it wants to push the United States into talks by ramping up fears of a nuclear crisis. "If the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is to be settled properly, the U.S. should stop posing a nuclear threat to the DPRK and accept the DPRK's proposal for the conclusion of a nonaggression treaty between the two countries," the North's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said in an editorial. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea repeatedly has demanded such a treaty, but U.S. officials say it first must take steps to abandon nuclear development before talks can occur. The dispute resembles a 1994 nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula that some say nearly led to war. The United States, which is preparing for possible war against Iraq, says it wants a peaceful solution to the Korean problem. Russia, South Korea, Japan and other U.S. allies also have expressed alarm about the developments. Pyongyang's speedy moves to reactivate nuclear facilities frozen under a 1994 deal with Washington have startled some in the Bush administration. "North Korea is trying to create a situation where the United States must come to the table," said Paik Hak-soon, a North Korea expert at the Sejong Institute, an independent research center in Seoul. Paik speculated that North Korea was eager to negotiate now, fearing U.S. success in a war against Iraq would embolden Washington to increase pressure on the North about its weapons of mass destruction. North Korea often has accused the United States, its foe in the 1950-1953 Korean War, of plotting its downfall and says the 37,000 U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea are the vanguard of an invasion force. North Korea on Monday began removing U.N. seals and "disrupting" cameras at a laboratory used to extract weapons-grade plutonium from spent fuel rods, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, said Pyongyang this weekend unsealed a storage chamber holding 8,000 irradiated fuel rods. Security analysts say plutonium in the rods could yield four or five nuclear weapons within months, and North Korea probably made one or two such weapons in the 1990s. North Korea says it is reactivating the 5-megawatt, Soviet-designed reactor in Yongbyon, 50 miles north of Pyongyang, to generate electricity because Washington reneged on a promise to provide energy. IAEA and U.S. officials disputed those claims Monday. "Reprocessing spent fuel and producing plutonium have absolutely no rationale in terms of peaceful activities in North Korea," IAEA director-general Mohamed ElBaradei told CNN. "It's a pretty dangerous situation." In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said North Korea's claim about generating electricity does not hold up to analysis. "They don't need a nuclear power plant," Rumsfeld said. "The power grid couldn't even absorb that." Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers said the plant "adds negligible electricity to the power grid." All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 13 Nuclear safeguard funds requested Oakland Tribune Online Article Last Updated: Monday, December 23, 2002 - By Lisa Friedman WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Bay Area lawmakers this week urged the Bush administration to beef up spending next year to help Russia safeguard its nuclear arsenal. In a letter to President Bush, Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, and 27 other members of Congress asked for an unspecified increase over last year's $1.1 billion nonproliferation budget. "As horrifying and tragic as the terrorist attacks of September 11 were, the destruction and loss of life would have been even greater had weapons of mass destruction been used," Tauscher wrote. She also noted that nonproliferation programs -- many of which are run out of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory -- "have a proven track record in reducing this threat by securing loose nuclear material, detecting weapons of mass destruction, reducing the brain drain of nuclear scientists who might be tempted to sell their know-how to terrorists." Also signing on to the request from the Bay Area were Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland; Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose; and Mike Honda, D-San Jose. A recent White House decision to rescind the option of states to provide paid parental leave benefits for new parents drew harsh criticism this week from Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont. "When it comes to helping America's families, the Bush administration is all show and no go," Stark said, accusing the president of "not practicing what he preaches when it comes to working families." The regulation allowing states to use unemployment insurance funds to compensate workers who take time off for the birth or adoption of a child was issued by the Clinton administration and bitterly opposed by business groups. About 16 states have considered it, no state has yet dipped into its unemployment trust fund to provide the benefit. Earlier this month the Bush administration said repealing the paid family leave is necessary to protect shrinking unemployment reserves. In a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chow, Stark and Rep. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., called the decision "contrary to the principles of advancing family friendly policies." The administration decision will not have much impact in California. Gov. Gray Davis signed a law making California the first state to offer workers comprehensive paid family leave. The state law allows workers to take six weeks off to care for a newborn, a newly adopted child or an ill family member. Employees will be eligible to receive 55 percent of their wages, up to a maximum of $278 per week. Congressional Quarterly has released its annual survey examining how often members of congress voted in support or against the President when the White House took a position. Not surprisingly, the number of times Bay Area lawmakers -- most of them liberal Democrats -- voted with President Bush was rare. Reps. Lynn Woolsey, D-San Rafael; George Miller, D-Martinez; Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco; Barbara Lee, D-Oakland; Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo; Pete Stark, D-Fremont; Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto; Mike Honda, D-San Jose, and Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, cast 15 to 20 percent of their votes in agreement with Bush. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, voted with Bush 35 percent of the time. The region's only Republican, Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy, voted with the President 84 percent of the time. You can contact Lisa Friedman at (202) 662-8731 or e-mail her at ©1999-2002 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers ***************************************************************** 14 Concern rises here over broken seals* *by Kim Young-sae * December 24, 2002 North Korea has removed a seal placed by the International Atomic Energy Agency at the pond where 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods are stored underwater, the UN agency and officials in Seoul said yesterday. The rods are stored at the North's nuclear reactor site in Yeongbyeon, north of Pyeongyang. The North has also taped the lenses of surveillance cameras monitoring the storage facility, officials here said. The move, which the IAEA called a "further disruption" of its nuclear safeguard tools in the North, came a day after the North removed seals and cameras at the nuclear reactor itself. Officials here also said North Korea has probably removed the seal on the radioactive laboratory in Yeongbyeon. The lab is suspected to be Pyeongyang's plutonium reprocessing facility. While maintaining that Pyeongyang has yet to "cross the line of no return," officials in Seoul reiterated calls made over the weekend for North Korea to pull back and restore the surveillance gear. A Foreign Ministry statement said the latest move by Pyeongyang was "regrettable" because it was came after repeated international warnings to halt its nuclear program. The move also heightens tension in the region, the statement said, and elevates the international community's concern about nuclear proliferation. The IAEA's director general, Mohamed ElBaradei, said the spent fuel contains "a significant amount of plutonium." He added that North Korea's refusal to respond to agency demands to return to the status quo ante was "deplorable." The fuel rods taken from the reactor cannot be reused in the nuclear plant and, as a U.S. State Department spokesman noted, have no plausible connection with electrical power. "The North has crossed several lines," a senior official here said, "but the final big line probably hasn't been crossed yet." He said Seoul is trying to work with other nations, including Russia and China, to turn the North around. There has been no discussion of sanctions, he added. Speculating on the North's motives, the senior official said the North is "clearly making a mistake," but added that it is not clear whether Pyeongyang has failed to grasp the international community's distress or if it understands that atmosphere but is plowing ahead nonetheless. This official defended the decision by Japan, Korea, the European Union and the United States to suspend fuel oil shipments to the North, saying that Pyeongyang triggered the chain of events by initiating a clandestine program to produce weapons-grade uranium in the late 1990s. A U.S. envoy confronted officials in Pyeongyang in October with evidence of that program and said Pyeongyang admitted to it. The fuel shipments were a part of the 1994 agreement between the United States and North Korea which was to have frozen the North's nuclear program. Other officials here pointed out that the removal of the seals does not automatically mean that the North will attempt to reprocess the spent fuel that was stored under safeguards at Yeongbyeon; nor is it certain without close inspection that the rods are capable of being reprocessed into nuclear weapons material. But other experts involved in the matter, including Mr. ElBaradei, said the material would be enough to manufacture about five nuclear weapons. The fuel was put into storage over a four-year period that ended in 2000. ¨Ï 2002 JoongAng Ilbo , Joins.com . All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 15 Iraq 'ready to cooperate' and to let CIA agents in* The Seattle Times Company Nation & World: Monday, December 23, 2002 *By Peter Baker* /The Washington Post/ BAGHDAD, Iraq ? Iraq pronounced itself "ready to deal" with outstanding questions about its arms programs, agreeing yesterday to allow scientists to be interviewed in Iraq without government officials present and even inviting CIA agents to visit suspected weapons sites. Iraq, however, still would not commit to permitting scientists to be taken abroad for interviews, as the United States has demanded, and said it would supply no more documents to fill in the "gaps" found by U.N. inspectors in a 12,000-page declaration about its weapons programs submitted this month. "We don't have any more," said Gen. Amir Saadi, a top adviser to President Saddam Hussein. "We don't have any more documentation. But we are ready ... to work and cooperate with" the inspectors. "We do not even have any objection if the CIA sent somebody with the inspectors to show them the suspected sites," Saadi said. The statements marked Iraq's most extensive response yet to the Bush administration's declaration last week that Iraq is in "material breach" of U.N. resolutions for failing to fully disclose what the United States says are programs to develop weapons of mass destruction. Saadi denounced what he called American "lies and baseless allegations" and called for the inspectors to be allowed to work without pressure from the United States. The pronouncement also underscored Iraq's strategy to head off war with U.S. forces gathering in the Persian Gulf. While standing by its assertion that it possesses no chemical, biological or *nuclear* weapons, Iraq has embraced U.N. inspections in an effort to undercut the credibility of U.S. claims and isolate the United States from would-be coalition partners around the world. "Iraqis are calculating, 'Let's do all we are asked for and then there will be no pretext for war' ? or at least real reason for war understood by other players in the world," said a diplomat here. "I was told that (government officials) were told if an inspector wants to lick your mouth, you open your mouth and wait for him to finish." As part of the strategy, Iraq continued to woo its Arab neighbors yesterday by making another gesture to Kuwait, the tiny neighboring emirate it invaded in 1990, setting off the Persian Gulf War. Iraq returned a load of stolen paintings, carpets and other items owned by the Kuwaiti royal family during a meeting at a border post. Saddam last month apologized to Kuwait for the invasion and has agreed to renew long-frozen talks next month on the fate of Kuwaitis who disappeared during the occupation. The latest maneuvering came as most of the international *nuclear* inspectors left the country after nearly wrapping up the first stage of their work. Chemical and biological inspectors remained in Iraq. A U.N. official reported that specialists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) took air, soil and water samples from 27 sites over the past three weeks and are awaiting results to determine whether tests show any indication that Iraq has continued work to develop a *nuclear* bomb. Thirteen *nuclear* inspectors packed up and left today, and two others flew out a few days ago, leaving just six behind. The IAEA team has come close to completing its preliminary inspections of all known sites and will begin "a more investigative phase" said U.N. spokesman Hiro Ueki. Iraq tried to portray this as an indication that it had been essentially cleared on the question of *nuclear* weapons, even though the atomic-energy agency officials have made no public determinations. "We don't have a problem with IAEA," Saadi said. "We're not concerned about the *nuclear* file. It is closed for all intents and purposes." Copyright © 2002 The Seattle Times Company ***************************************************************** 16 North Korea Says It Regains Access to Its Plutonium The New York Times December 23, 2002* *By DAVID E. SANGER and JAMES DAO* WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 ? North Korea said today that it had removed the equipment that international inspectors installed more than eight years ago to make sure that it would not make use of its large stockpile of plutonium to produce nuclear weapons. Bush administration officials said they feared that North Korea could use that plutonium to manufacture five or six nuclear weapons within months. The action, coming one day after North Korea took similar monitoring equipment off a nuclear reactor, intensifies the crisis over North Korea's nuclear capability, at a moment when President Bush has tried to focus the world's attention on the threat posed by Iraq. It also poses a challenge to the newly elected government in South Korea. Several outside experts ? and a few Bush administration officials speaking on background this evening ? said North Korea might now be able to create a small nuclear arsenal in the coming year, assuming it has the technical ability to engineer a working nuclear weapon. The removal of surveillance cameras and seals from a pond where spent nuclear fuel rods are stored essentially puts Mr. Bush in the same position where President Bill Clinton was in 1994, when North Korea threatened to turn its plutonium into additional weaponry. By that time, the Central Intelligence Agency already believed that North Korea had separated enough plutonium to produce two nuclear weapons. Mr. Clinton responded to the threat by reinforcing American troops on the Korean Peninsula and considered a plan to bomb the nuclear site at Yongbyon, before the situation was defused in a negotiated settlement. That settlement is now shattered, and some administration officials are clearly worried that Mr. Bush may face a crisis in North Korea at the very moment he is sending tens of thousands of troops to the Middle East. "We still think Saddam is the bigger threat," one senior official said tonight, "but there is no question that the North Koreans, who already have superior firepower, may soon be in a position to threaten to deploy or sell its nuclear capability. Iraq is a long way from that." North Korea's move was immediately condemned by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, which acknowledged that without the surveillance equipment it could not guarantee that the plutonium "has not been diverted to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devises." The Bush administration's public reaction was far more muted, consistent with its effort in recent weeks to play down the North Korean threat and to say nothing that might provoke a military crisis in the region. Still, several senior officials seemed stunned that North Korea had moved so quickly to escalate its confrontation with the West, and particularly with the United States. "The 8,000-odd spent fuel rods are of particular concern because they could be reprocessed to recover plutonium for nuclear weapons," Louis Fintor, a State Department spokesman, said today, referring to the fuel rods that the Central Intelligence Agency estimates contain a total of about 30 kilograms, or 66 pounds, of plutonium. "They have no relevance for the generation of electricity." Mr. Fintor was referring to North Korea's claims last week that it would have to restart its nuclear reactor to make up for energy lost because oil shipments from the West had been suspended. Under pressure from Washington, Japan, South Korea and the European Union decided last month to hold up those shipments because North Korea had admitted to violating the nuclear freeze agreement it signed in 1994. North Korea's acknowledgment of its program came in October, when American officials visiting Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, confronted their hosts with evidence that the country was trying to enrich uranium. North Korea has so far refused to allow inspectors to see that program in operation, demanding that that United States first negotiate a new accord with it. *Continued* 1 | 2 Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company ***************************************************************** 17 U.N. Deplores N. Korea's Nuclear Stance Las Vegas SUN: December 22, 2002 By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA ASSOCIATED PRESS SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it deplored North Korea's decision to remove U.N. seals and surveillance cameras from nuclear facilities that U.S. officials say could yield weapons within months. Washington and its allies urged Pyongyang to rescind its decision. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been monitoring the facilities, said Pyongyang this weekend had unsealed a spent fuel storage chamber that holds 8,000 irradiated fuel rods. "As the spent fuel contains a significant amount of plutonium, (North Korea's) action is of great nonproliferation concern," Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA director-general, said in a press release Sunday. "The 8000-odd spent fuel rods are of particular concern because they could be reprocessed to recover plutonium for nuclear weapons," State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said. On Monday, North Korea's nuclear ambitions dominated a previously arranged meeting between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and his successor, who won election last week. No details were available. President-elect Roh Moo-hyun, who takes office in February, advocates dialogue to resolve the nuclear issue. But South Korea's chief ally, the United States, says that while it seeks a diplomatic solution, it opposes talks with North Korea unless it first abandons nuclear development. North Korea has said it was willing to resolve U.S. security concerns if Washington signs a nonaggression treaty. Pyongyang's move Sunday raised fears of a nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula similar to one involving the same facilities in 1994. At that time, many officials in Seoul and Washington believed there was a heightened possibility of war with North Korea. Conflict was averted when North Korea agreed to freeze the facilities in a deal with the United States. But it said Dec. 12 that it planned to reactivate them to produce electricity because Washington had failed to follow through on a pledge to provide energy. North Korea said the Vienna-based IAEA failed to respond to its request to remove the equipment, compelling it "to immediately start the work of removing the seals and monitoring cameras from the frozen nuclear facilities for their normal operation to produce electricity." The IAEA said the seals and surveillance equipment had been removed from the spent fuel pond, which stores the fuel rods, at the 5-megawatt, Soviet-designed reactor in Yongbyon, 50 miles north of Pyongyang. "Without our equipment, we cannot monitor their nuclear inventories and therefore cannot provide assurances that they are not producing material for nuclear weapons," said Mark Gwozdecky, IAEA spokesman. ElBaradei said it was "deplorable" that Pyongyang had not responded to his requests for "an urgently needed discussion on safeguards issues." Fintor, of the State Department, said the 8,000 spent fuel rods had "no relevance" for generating electricity and unsealing them "belies North Korea's announced justification to produce electricity." Security experts believe North Korea made one or two nuclear weapons using plutonium it extracted from the Yongbyon reactor in the 1990s. Now there are fears it will reprocess plutonium fuel rods that were separated from the Yongbyon reactor, and later stored under supervision by IAEA inspectors. "They're going to be able to build four to five additional nuclear weapons within months if they begin that reprocessing operation," Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said on "Fox News Sunday." Biden, the outgoing chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the North Korean nuclear issue was a greater threat to U.S. interests than Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. South Korea, Japan and France strongly criticized the North Korean action. The announcement by the North's state-run news agency, KCNA, was part of a dispute that has been escalating since October, when U.S. officials said North Korea admitted it had a secret nuclear weapons program based on uranium enrichment. The program violated several nuclear arms control agreements, and Washington and its allies suspended shipments of heavy fuel oil to the energy-starved country that were required under the 1994 deal. Instead of giving up its nuclear program, Pyongyang said it had no choice but to revive old nuclear facilities that were frozen under the same agreement. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 18 Pyongyang ratchets up nuke tensions Asia Times VIENNA - When North Korea confirmed on the weekend that it had removed United Nations surveillance devices at its Yongbyon plant, it was just another Pyongyang-based headache for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). North Korea has been suspected of making weapons-grade plutonium at the Yongbyon plant. The surveillance devices were installed and sealed by international agreement eight years ago. The IAEA said Pyongyang had broken most of the seals and disabled the cameras, which monitored compliance with a US-approved deal in 1994 to freeze North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for foreign aid. The IAEA has been more than a little distressed since October when North Korean officials bragged they had a right to nuclear weapons. As the world's nuclear nursemaid, IAEA director Mohamed El-Baradei took steps to implement safeguards and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. The IAEA sent faxes to the North Korean government on November 17 and 18 asking for precise information about its nuclear weapons program, and offering to send a team to discuss safeguards. It received no reply. Instead, the North Korean government wrote back on December 12 asking the IAEA to lift a freeze on its nuclear facilities so that it could resume generation of electricity. The government said this was necessary because the United States is suspending supply of fuel at the end of the year. The North Korean letters made no mention of El-Baradei's faxes. North Korea's moves are seen here as dangerous brinkmanship. The IAEA has insisted that containment and surveillance measures at nuclear power plants in North Korea remain in place. If these are removed or disabled, as they apparently have been at Yongbyon, IAEA officials say North Korea could reprocess 8,000 spent fuel rods now lying in a temporary storage pond into enough plutonium to make five bombs within a month. Pyongyang has announced that it is lifting the freeze on its nuclear program to generate electricity, but the reactor at Yongbyon has never been connected to the power grid. The amount of electricity it could produce may not be significant. Two other nuclear reactors under construction were also frozen under the 1994 agreement. Those reactors could greatly expand Pyongyang's capacity to manufacture nuclear weapons. It would take three to five years before construction is complete and full-scale production begins. One of these nuclear plants could produce about 220 kilograms of plutonium a year - enough for 30-40 bombs. The estimated start-up timeline for the second is also about three to five years, and this one could produce enough plutonium for seven to 10 bombs a year. In its first letter to El-Baradei, North Korea rejected a resolution adopted by the IAEA board of governors on November 29 insisting that North Korea implement the agency's safeguards. The letter also expressed disappointment over what it called the agency's unilateral and unfair approach. It blamed what it described as the IAEA's hostile policy toward North Korea for the nuclear crisis in the Korean Peninsula. In its second letter, North Korea asked the IAEA to unseal the canisters containing the spent fuel rods so that it could generate electricity. El-Baradei asked North Korea not to open the sealed canisters containing spent fuel or to tamper with the cameras keeping an eye on the cooling ponds where the fuel was canned between 1996 and 1998. The IAEA keeps a team of two international inspectors at the nuclear complex in Yongbyon. According to US authorities, North Korea acknowledged in October that it had a program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Such a program would violate the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the North Korea-IAEA Safeguards Agreement and the North-South Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea could face serious consequences if it withdraws from the NPT or disregards the concerns of the IAEA, officials say. Despite its monitoring moves, the IAEA has never had an exact picture of North Korea's nuclear activities. North Korea signed the NPT in 1985 and entered into a safeguards agreement with the agency in 1992. The first row between the two came soon after when North Korea declared its plutonium capacity, also assessed independently by the IAEA. North Korea has been held responsible ever since for failing to comply with its non-proliferation obligations. Pyongyang accuses the United States of "systematically breaching" the 1994 deal and says the administration of President George W Bush is planning to start a nuclear war against it. On the weekend, North Korea argued that America's pending war on Iraq might be a "preliminary test" for a US attack against Pyongyang. It also said earlier that "if the US has a right to use nuclear weapons, we are entitled to counter it". (Asia Times Online/Inter Press Service) Dec 24, 2002 Asia Times Online Copyright Asia Times Online, 6306 The Center, Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong. ***************************************************************** 19 US, Allies Push to Stop N.Korea Nuclear Move* / Mon December 23, 2002 05:34 AM ET / By Paul Eckert SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's president and president-elect discussed North Korea's nuclear brinkmanship on Monday as the United States said it would neither bargain nor negotiate under duress with the reclusive communist state. Little emerged from the meeting between President Kim Dae-jung and his successor, Roh Moo-hyun, who was elected on Thursday and takes over in February. South Korean media said the two men, who both favor constructive engagement with the North, confirmed that they sought a peaceful resolution to a crisis a leading U.S. lawmaker described as a greater threat than Iraq. Kim's spokeswoman, Park Sun-sook, told reporters the talks "centered on the North Korean nuclear issue" and ties with the United States, Japan, China, Russia and the European Union, all countries working with Washington to defuse the crisis. But both sides declined to offer detailed comment on the talks, the first of several meetings planned during the leadership transition. Roh also received "factual briefings" from Kim's top security advisers, a presidential aide said. North Korea, a country President Bush lumped with Iraq and Iran in an "axis of evil," said at the weekend it had begun removing U.N. monitoring equipment at a nuclear reactor capable of yielding weapons-grade plutonium. South Korean shares fell more than two percent on Monday to close at their lowest level in a month. Traders blamed North Korea's nuclear announcement and worry about war in Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned China, South Korea, Russia, Japan and other allies over the weekend. On Sunday, South Korea voiced "deep regret" at the North's move and vowed to work with allies to defuse a crisis. State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said Washington, which accuses Iraq of possessing secret weapons of mass destruction and has threatened it with war if it does not come clean, expected North Korea to respect international commitments it had made. "We will not bargain or offer inducements for North Korea to live up to the treaties and agreements it has signed," Fintor said. "Let me underscore the United States will not enter into dialogue in response to threats or broken commitments." 8,000 FUEL RODS A U.N. watchdog said North Korea had broken seals on about 8,000 spent fuel rods at Yongbyon, a reactor at the center of an earlier crisis defused by a 1994 oil-for nuclear compliance deal. "As the spent fuel contains a significant amount of plutonium, North Korea's action is of great non-proliferation concern," said Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Australia, one of the few Western nations to have diplomatic ties with North Korea, weighed in with strong words of its own. "(North Korea's) actions will be met by firm international resolve," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said, urging the North to step back and cooperate fully with the IAEA. In Pyongyang, new British Ambassador David Slinn said he paid a courtesy call on North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun, but he declined to discuss the contents of the meeting. In Washington, the outgoing chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Joseph Biden, told "Fox News Sunday" the North Korea threat was greater than Iraq. "This is a greater danger immediately to U.S. interests at this very moment, in my view, than Saddam Hussein is," he said. Impoverished North Korea, short of food and fuel oil, accuses Washington and its allies of triggering the crisis. Its official Korean Central News Agency said seals and monitoring cameras were being removed "from the frozen nuclear facilities for their normal operation to produce electricity." Under the 1994 agreement with the United States, North Korea froze its reactors in exchange for shipments of oil and the construction of proliferation-proof reactors. The United States, South Korea, Japan and the European Union halted oil supplies after Washington said the North had acknowledged defying the 1994 agreement and other international commitments with a program to develop highly enriched uranium. On Monday, Pyongyang said nothing new about the reactors, but reiterated its demand for a non-aggression pact with Washington. "If the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula is to be settled properly, the U.S. should stop posing a nuclear threat to (North Korea) and accept (our) proposal for the conclusion of a non-aggression treaty between the two countries," said the North's ruling party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun. South Korean commentators said Pyongyang appeared to be testing Roh and trying to exploit divisions on North Korea between Seoul and Washington. Also on Monday, working level military officials from the two Koreas met to confirm plans to open a cross-border road next week for South Korean tourists to visit the Mount Kumgang resort just over the border in eastern North Korea. Reuters The Company Products & ***************************************************************** 20 Korea Asserts Itself South Korea's new President TIME Asia Magazine: Korea Asserts Itself -- Dec. 30, 2002 2002—January 6, 2003/ Vol. 160 No. 25/26 BY DONALD MACINTYRE SEOUL YUN JAI-HYOUNG/AP The President-elect wants the sun to shine on Kim Yun Hee, one of the 12 million voters who elected liberal lawyer Roh Moo Hyun as South Korea's new President last week, is concerned about homeland security. He ought to be. North Korea is trying to arm itself with nuclear missiles and seems bent on forcing a showdown with the U.S., which wants to strip the North of its weapons of mass destruction and appears willing to risk war to do so. But during a noisy Seoul street party celebrating Roh's cliff-hanger Dec. 19 victory, Kim, a 26-year-old publishing company employee, says he's not worried about the North—he's worried about his nation's longtime ally America. "The U.S. is oppressing North Korea," says Kim, adding that only Roh's brand of nonconfrontational diplomacy "can guarantee peace on the Korean peninsula." Anti-American sentiment is rife in South Korea today, and as Roh, 56, prepares to move into the Blue House next February for a five-year presidential term, a sea change in U.S.-South Korean relations appears to be under way. In his first postvictory public utterances, the President-elect said he wants South Korea to be treated as an equal by the U.S., not as a ward. And despite his lack of foreign-policy experience, he made it clear that his incoming administration will not defer to the U.S. on North Korean diplomacy. "The traditional friendship and alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States must mature and advance in the 21st century," Roh said in his first postelection news conference. South Korea's new assertiveness—and the wave of sometimes violent anti-American street protests that go along with it—represents "a wake up call for the Bush Administration," says Victor Cha, an expert on the military alliance between Seoul and Washington at Georgetown University. "Something is really wrong." What's wrong is the allies' increasingly divergent diplomatic strategies over the question of North Korea. The U.S. has 37,000 troops stationed in the South to deter the North Korean army from swarming over the 38th parallel and into Seoul, which is only about 64 kilometers from the border. U.S. citizens can't rest easy, either. The North is thought to be developing missiles that can strike Alaska and possibly the West Coast. Washington has cut off all dialogue with North Korea as well as oil shipments. But more than half of South Koreans, particularly younger voters, don't see the Stalinist North as a menace, according to a recent poll by Gallup and the South's Chosun Ilbo newspaper. They view the impoverished country as they might an aggressive panhandler who, through assistance and negotiation, can be coaxed into becoming a good citizen; and they see America's hard-line policy as a needless provocation of unpredictable dictator Kim Jong Il. "There is a totally different threat perception between South Koreans and Americans," says Balbina Hwang, a Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Roh does not have an overwhelming mandate from voters. The election turnout was low, and his 48.9% of the vote was just a 2.3 percentage point margin of victory over conservative opponent Lee Hoi Chang. Lee, 67, nearly squeaked into office by talking tough on North Korea. He argued that the North's recent confession of pursuing nuclear weapons in violation of international accords clearly showed that outgoing President Kim Dae Jung's "Sunshine" engagement policy had failed. But South Korea's younger voters, who grew up during the years when the country was run by military dictators propped up by the U.S., swung the election for Roh. And Roh, who was tapped by the leading Millennium Democratic Party as the candidate to succeed Kim, is committed to engagement. A self-taught lawyer who never attended university, Roh acquired his liberal credentials by defending students and workers on strike who ran foul of the country's draconian national securities law. A card-carrying idealist, he once suggested that U.S. troops be ejected from Korean soil. During the presidential race, Roh adopted a more moderate stance. But he rides into office on a surge of nationalistic self-confidence that will make him a tough sell when George W. Bush comes calling to persuade him to cut economic aid to North Korea. One day after the election, Bush called Roh to proffer his congratulations and to invite him to Washington. Meanwhile, Roh was offering assurances that "nothing will change drastically" in the Seoul-Washington relationship. "I'm not anti-American," he said during the election campaign. "I just don't think we need to kowtow to the U.S." South Korea's new President will soon have a chance to show if that means his nation can lead instead of follow. Persons of the Year 2002: They took huge risks to blow the whistle on what went wrong at WorldCom, the FBI and Enron—and in so doing helped remind us what courage and values are all about Photo Essay: Year in Photos: Images of triumphs and tragedies that caught our attention in 2002, both up close and out of this world New Age Supersage: Arguably the world's most influential guru, Deepak Chopra is more beloved—and bankable—than ever Copyright © 2002 Time Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 21 UofPenn FONSI FR Doc 02-32246 [Federal Register: December 23, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 246)] [Notices] [Page 78261-78262] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23de02-99] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [License Number 37-00118-07] Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact: Exemption The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is authorizing the University of Pennsylvania an exemption from 10 CFR 20.1301 to allow adults providing care to minors undergoing medical treatment with byproduct material during confinement to receive a dose up to 2 rems (0.02 Sievert (Sv) or 20 millisievert (mSv)) in a year. Environmental Assessment Identification of the Proposed Action The University of Pennsylvania is licensed by the NRC for the medical use of byproduct material. This licensee has requested, in letters dated March 15, 2002, and April 11, 2002, that the NRC grant it an exemption to allow adults providing care to minors undergoing medical treatment with byproduct material during confinement to receive a dose up to 2 rems (0.02 Sv) in a year. 10 CFR 20.1301(a)(1) requires licensees to conduct operations so that the total effective dose equivalent to individual members of public does not exceed 0.1 rem (1 mSv) in a year. Notwithstanding this provision, a licensee may permit higher doses to visitors when visiting an individual who cannot be released from the hospital in accordance with 10 CFR 35.75. The regulations in 10 CFR 20.1301(c) permit licensees to allow visitors to receive an annual dose of up to 0.5 rem (5 mSv) provided the dose received does not exceed 0.5 rem (5 mSv) and the authorized user has determined before the visit that it is appropriate. The University of Pennsylvania (the University) requested this higher exposure for these adult caregivers for several reasons. The University indicated that, although these caregivers are not employees of the institutions covered by the license, they voluntarily provide essential assistance and support for a unique patient population. The adult caregivers not only provide comfort and company to the children, but also participate in many of the daily tasks for the children during their isolation. The physicians think that applying a lower dose limit to these caregivers could negatively impact patient treatment, overall patient outcome and could increase the risk to the patient. The licensee further stated that the presence of a familiar caregiver reassures and calms the anxious child. Therefore, restricting the access of these caregivers to the children during this time will increase the risk of the procedure for several reasons. Many small children become highly anxious and even combative if forced separation from these caregivers is mandated. This separation may require intravenous sedation, with the attendant risk of respiratory depression or other adverse effects. In its correspondence to NRC, the University will identify these caregivers and treat them as though they are radiation workers; they will receive the same training and monitoring as required of other radiation workers, including instructions in maintaining their doses as low as reasonably achievable. In addition, standard radiation protection practices of minimizing time, maximizing distance and use of shielding will be employed to the extent practicable. Need for the Proposed Action The exemption is needed so that the University can provide optimum medical treatment and care to minor patients receiving treatment using [[Page 78262]] byproduct material. The higher allowed exposure limit to these adult caregivers for minor patients allows for a more positive overall outcome and lower risk to the patient. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action There will be no significant environmental impact or undue hazard to life or property from the proposed action due to the fact that no material is being released into the environment and all of the operations involving the byproduct material will follow normal operating procedures followed prior to the request for the exemption. During operations, the radiation dose rates from the minor patient will not be different than occurs normally for the prescribed medical treatment. The doses to the adult caregiver could be higher than doses allowed for members of the public by 10 CFR 20.1301 as a result of the closer proximity to the minor patient necessary to allow participation in many of the daily tasks for the children during their isolation. The University indicated it will identify these caregivers and treat them as though they are radiation workers; they will receive the same training and monitoring as required of other radiation workers, including instructions in maintaining their doses as low as reasonably achievable. In addition, standard radiation protection practices of minimizing time, maximizing distance and use of shielding will be employed to the extent practicable. Alternatives to the Proposed Action As required by section 102(2)(E) of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4322(2)(E)), possible alternatives to the final action have been considered. The only alternative is to deny the exemption. This option would not produce a substantial gain in protecting the human environment. University employee caregivers would be proving the care that will be provided by the family adult caregiver. Allowing the family adult caregiver to perform some of the minor patient care tasks improves the outcome of the treatment. Alternative Use of Resources No alternative use of resources was considered due to the reasons stated above. Agencies and Persons Consulted NRC consulted the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Radiation Protection regarding this matter. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has no objection to NRC approval of the proposed exemption request or the conclusions of this environmental assessment. Identification of Sources Used Letters from the University to NRC, Region I, dated March 15, 2002, and April 11, 2002. Finding of No Significant Impact The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed in accordance with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR part 51. Based on the foregoing environmental assessment, the Commission finds that the proposed action of granting the exemption from 10 CFR 20.1301 will not significantly impact the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission has determined that an environmental impact statement for the proposed exemption is not warranted. Further Information: The request for an exemption was docketed under 10 CFR part 20, License Number 37-00118-07. For further details with respect to this action, see the exemption request letters dated March 15, 2002, and April 11, 2002. The NRC maintains an Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of December, 2002. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Thomas H. Essig, Chief, Material Safety and Inspection Branch, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 02-32246 Filed 12-20-02; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 22 NRC banning order of John Bilinksy FR Doc 02-32244 [Federal Register: December 23, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 246)] [Notices] [Page 78260-78261] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23de02-98] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [IA-02-031] In the Matter of John Todd Bilinsky; Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities I John Todd Bilinsky was employed as a technician by NTH Consultants, Ltd. (Licensee) of Farmington Hills and Grand Rapids, Michigan. NTH Consultants, Ltd., holds License No. 21-14894-01 issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR part 30 on June 17, 1996. The license authorizes the use of Cesium-137 and Americium-241 sealed sources in Troxler moisture/density gauges in accordance with the conditions specified therein. II On November 2, 2001, NTH Consultants Ltd., reported to the NRC that a Troxler moisture/density gauge containing NRC-licensed material had been stolen and subsequently recovered. The NRC Office of Investigations (OI) conducted an investigation into the reported theft of Troxler Model 3411B moisture/density gauge (Serial No. 16990) containing NRC-licensed material in two sealed sources (8 mCi of Cesium-137, Serial No. 50-6374, and 40 mCi of Americium-241, Serial No. 47-12413). The Office of Investigations issued Report No. 3-2001-053 on July 26, 2002. Information developed during that investigation indicated that John Todd Bilinsky was previously employed by NTH Consultants, Ltd., at its facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Mr. Bilinsky was authorized to use Troxler moisture/density gauges. On September 14, 2001, an employee of the Licensee learned that Mr. Bilinsky was soliciting outside work from customers of NTH Consultants, Ltd. As a result of the solicitations, Mr. Bilinsky's employment was suspended by the Licensee on September 21, 2001, and his employment was terminated on September 24, 2001. During October 2001, licensee personnel conducted a property inventory and could not account for Troxler Model 3411B moisture/ density gauge (Serial No. 16990). The Licensee determined that the gauge was returned to its storage area on August 31, 2001. At that time, the gauge utilization log had been updated to reflect that this specific moisture-density gauge was broken and should be transferred from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, office to the Farmington Hills, Michigan, corporate office for repairs. When Mr. Bilinsky was terminated on September 24, 2001, the Licensee was not aware that Mr. Bilinsky had the gauge in his possession. The Licensee did not learn that the gauge was in the possession of Mr. Bilinsky until November 2, 2001, when another employee of NTH Consultants retrieved the gauge from Mr. Bilinsky. III Based on the above, it appears that John Todd Bilinsky, a former employee of the Licensee, acquired and possessed, without authorization, a Troxler Model 3441B moisture-density gauge (Serial No. 16990) containing NRC-licensed material, that was owned by NTH Consultants, Ltd. Mr. Bilinsky's possession of a Troxler Model 3411B moisture-density gauge containing byproduct material (nominally 8 millicuries of cesium-137 and 40 millicuries of americium-241:Be) without authorization of an NRC licensee or without a specific or general license issued by the NRC or an Agreement State, is an apparent deliberate violation of 10 CFR 30.3, ``Activities Requiring License.'' Further, Mr. Bilinsky's conduct has raised serious doubt as to whether he can be relied upon to comply with NRC requirements in the future. Consequently, I lack the requisite reasonable assurance that licensed activities can be conducted in compliance with the Commission's requirements and that the health and safety of the public will be protected if Mr. Bilinsky were permitted at this time to be involved in NRC-licensed activities. Therefore, the public health, safety and interest require that Mr. Bilinsky be prohibited from any involvement in NRC-licensed activities for a period of five years from the date of this Order. IV Accordingly, pursuant to sections 81, 161b, 161i, 182 and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202, 10 CFR 30.10, and 10 CFR 150.20, it is hereby ordered that: 1. John Todd Bilinsky is prohibited for five years from the date of this Order from engaging in NRC-licensed activities. NRC-licensed activities are those activities that are conducted pursuant to a specific or general license issued by the NRC, including, but not limited to, those activities of Agreement State licensees conducted pursuant to the authority granted by 10 CFR 150.20. [[Page 78261]] 2. If Mr. Bilinsky is currently involved with another licensee in NRC-licensed activities, he must immediately cease those activities, and inform the NRC of the name, address and telephone number of the employer, and provide a copy of this Order to the employer. The Director, OE, may, by letter, relax or rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by Mr. Bilinsky of good cause. V In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, John Todd Bilinsky must, and any other person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this Order, and may request a hearing on this Order, within 20 days of the date of this Order. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and include a statement of good cause for the extension. The answer may consent to this Order. Unless the answer consents to this Order, the answer shall, in writing and under oath or affirmation, specifically admit or deny each allegation or charge made in this Order and shall set forth the matters of fact and law on which Mr. Bilinsky or other person adversely affected relies and the reasons as to why the Order should not have been issued. Any answer or request for a hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attn: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 20555. Copies also shall be sent to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, to the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address, to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532-4351, and to Mr. Bilinsky if the answer or hearing request is by a person other than Mr. Bilinsky. Because of continuing disruptions in delivery of mail to United States Government offices, it is requested that answers and requests for hearing be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-1101 or by e-mail to hearingdocket@nrc.gov and also to the Office of the General Counsel either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. If a person other than Mr. Bilinsky requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).\1\ \1\ The most recent version of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations published January 1, 2002, inadvertently omitted the last sentence of 10 CFR 2.714 (d) and paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2) regarding petitions to intervene and contentions. For the complete, corrected text of 10 CFR 2.714 (d), please see 67 FR 20884; April 29, 2002. If a hearing is requested by Mr. Bilinsky or a person whose interest is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained. In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions specified in section IV above shall be effective and final 20 days from the date of this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions specified in section IV shall be final when the extension expires if a hearing request has not been received. Dated this 12th day of December, 2002. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Carl J. Paperiello, Deputy Executive Director for Materials, Research and State Programs. [FR Doc. 02-32244 Filed 12-20-02; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 23 Suspension of Light Water Reactor Project Considered Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English Updated Dec.23,2002 15:49 KST To prevent a nuclear crisis on the peninsula, the South Korean government is moving quickly to consult on the issue with the US and Japan. In separate phone calls with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, Seoul's top diplomat Choi Sung-hong agreed Sunday to boost the trilateral alliance in keeping the North's nuclear reactors frozen. The three foreign ministers also called for close cooperation with Russia, China and the European Union on pressuring Pyongyang. However, sources say South Korean officials are also considering various options should the North go ahead and reactivate its nuclear reactors, including suspending work on the Korean Peninsula Energy Development's (KEDO) light-water reactor project in North Korea, and handing over the case to the UN Security Council. (Arirang TV) ***************************************************************** 24 Chernobyl children arrive in Ireland for Christmas* /23/12/2002 - 10:28:45/ Children, from Belarus, aged between 6 and 17, arrived in Shannon airport this morning to spend the festive season with Irish families. Children, from Belarus, aged between 6 and 17, arrived in Shannon airport this morning to spend the festive season with Irish families. Adi Roche of the Chernobyl Children's project says many of the children are orphans. "Many of the children are coming from different orphanages throughout the radiation zone, which is a quarter of the land of Belarus. "These are children that have been plucked from the heart of an area that has been known as the world's most radioactive environment and they will be given a nuclear free Christmas. "They will have clean air, clean food, clean water and this is going to give a good boost to their immune systems, which will help through the rest of what is a very cold winter." * Visit IOL's NEW e-learning channel and chose from a wide range of training courses! * Irish News | Print Version <#> | Email to friend <#> | Previous Page © Thomas Crosbie Media, 2002. ***************************************************************** 25 NRC Issues Supplement to Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Decommissioning of Power Plants NRC: News Release - 2002-145 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov www.nrc.gov No. 02-145 December 23, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued Supplement 1 to the 1988 Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities. Supplement 1 updates the NRCs evaluation of environmental impacts associated with the decommissioning of nuclear power reactors. The Supplement considers the technological advances in decommissioning operations, experience gained by operators of nuclear power plants, and changes made to NRC regulations since the 1988 GEIS. The Supplement is intended to be used to evaluate environmental impacts during the decommissioning of nuclear power reactors as residual radioactivity at the site is reduced to levels that allow for termination of the NRC license. The scope of the document was determined through four public meetings in 2000 and other meetings with federal agencies and the nuclear industry. The Supplement addresses only commercial nuclear power reactors licensed by NRC. It updates sections of the 1988 GEIS relating to pressurized water reactors, boiling water reactors, and multiple reactor stations. It goes beyond the 1988 GEIS and considers the existing permanently shut down high-temperature gas-cooled reactor and fast breeder reactor. It does not include research and test reactors or a power reactor that has been involved in a significant accident resulting in large-scale contamination of structures, systems, and components. Nor does it include other types of fuel-cycle facilities, such as fuel-reprocessing plants or small mixed oxide fuel-fabrication plants. A copy of the Supplement is available through the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS). Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC Public Document Room staff at 301-415-4737 or 1-800-397-4209, or by sending a message to pdr@nrc.govvia e-mail. The document is also available for inspection at the NRCs Public Document Room located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. For further information, contact Dr. Michael T. Masnik, Senior Project Manager, at 301-415-1191. Last revised Monday, December 23, 2002 ***************************************************************** 26 Iran, Russia agree deal on nuclear plant* *Tuesday, December 24, 2002* TEHRAN, Dec 23 (Reuters) Iran has moved a step closer to producing nuclear power by agreeing to return spent fuel to Russia from a 800 million dollars reactor being built by Moscow despite U S opposition, an atomic energy official said today. Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev arrived in Tehran yesterday to finalise details of the nuclear programme fiercely opposed by Washington, which has branded Iran part of an ''axis of evil'' for allegedly developing weapons of mass destruction. ''Iran has accepted to return the waste fuel to Russia as one of the terms for starting the shipment of fuel,'' an official at Iran's Atomic Energy Agency told Reuters. Moscow's continued participation in the project to build a nuclear reactor near the southwestern port of Bushehr depended on Iranian assurances that all spent fuel would be returned to Russia -- a demand advanced by U.S. experts. ''The first batch of fuel for the Bushehr nuclear plant produced by Russia is ready and packed. Russia is trying to make necessary preparations for its shipment,'' Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Rumyantsev as saying. Rumyantsev said supplying the fuel remained contingent on signing an agreement on fuel delivery and the return of spent fuel. Iranian officials said the agreement would be signed on Wednesday. Iran insists the Bushehr reactor is for purely civilian power production, but U.S. officials question why Iran, the second biggest oil producer in OPEC and with the second biggest gas reserves in the world, would need it. Russia says it would be difficult for the civilian reactor to be adapted to produce nuclear weapons, a stance disputed by Washington. U.S. officials earlier this month also charged that two other nuclear sites being built in central Iran were of a type that could be used for manufacturing nuclear warheads. The Bushehr reactor, due to come on stream at the end of 2003, is under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), while the other two plants are not due to be inspected by the agency until late February. Site Designed & Maintained by www.jacobsonsoft.com © Copyright DeepikaGlobal.com 1997-2002. To access reprinting rights, please contact webmaster@deepikaglobal.com ***************************************************************** 27 Vt. Yankee power proposal contested Brattleboro Reformer Monday, December 23, 2002 - 12:35:03 AM MST By EESHA WILLIAMS Reformer Staff BRATTLEBORO -- A Brattleboro-based citizens group vowed Friday to fight a plan by the owner of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon to increase the plant's electricity output by a fifth. "We will fight this every step of the way," said Raymond Shadis, spokesman for the New England Coalition. "Entergy's plan presents a very real danger to one of the loveliest parts of the country." "Vermont Yankee is an antique plant suffering from aging, poor maintenance, and hard use," he added. "It is foolhardy to stress any of its systems or its staff more than they already are." Officials from Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee (ENVY) came to a Vernon Selectboard meeting Thursday to answer questions about the so-called "power uprate." "Would you like a letter of recommendation for this (uprate)?" asked Chairman James Polhemus. ENVY's Larry Smith said: "That would be wonderful -- if the board was of a mind to do that. It would be a help as we go through the regulatory process." The board voted unanimously on a motion by board member Douglas Fletcher and seconded by Sonya Shippee to grant ENVY a letter of support for the uprate. Smith said ENVY needed permission from the Vermont Public Service Board and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to squeeze an extra 100 megawatts out of the 30-year-old, 510-megawatt plant. "It will be a two-year review process," Smith said. "We plan to apply in mid to late February." ENVY hopes to make the necessary changes to Yankee, including replacing the "high pressure turbine, upgrading the cooling towers, and rewinding the main generator," during scheduled refueling outages in 2004 and 2005, ENVY's George Thomas told the board. "It's a very low-financial-risk operation," he said. The size of the plant's staff would be unaffected by the changes, he said. Only one other nuclear plant in the nation has increased its power by 20 percent -- the AmerGen-owned Clinton plant in Clinton, Ill. "Most plant owners apply for 1 to 5 percent increases," Shadis said. "The NRC has warned of the increased risk presented by power uprates of over 10 percent. "Any uprate will increase the risk of an accident and the size of an accident should one occur," Shadis said, "That's why the New England Coalition is going to oppose it." The NRC recently approved a request for a 1.5 percent increase for the Peach Bottom nuclear plant in Delta, Pa., he said. ©1999-2002 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and NENI Newspapers ***************************************************************** 28 US nuke power plants safe from air strike-industry Reuters AlertNet - 23 Dec 2002 19:58 By Chris Baltimore WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The nation's 103 operating nuclear power plant reactors could withstand a direct hit by a fuel-laden commercial airliner with no release of deadly radiation, a U.S. nuclear industry study said on Monday. Last month, the FBI warned that the U.S. nuclear industry could be the target of an attack by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network as a way to inflict massive casualties, psychological trauma and severe economic damage. Since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, lawmakers and activist groups have raised repeated concerns that a similar strike against a nuclear power plant could spew radioactive material that would kill or sicken thousands of nearby residents. A study commissioned by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) concluded such an attack could damage the thick concrete walls that surround nuclear reactors, but would not breach them. Reactors are housed in structures designed to contain the equivalent of a small nuclear explosion. The study was not sanctioned by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency charged with protecting nuclear plants. It has its own study underway, but has not set a release date, an NRC spokesman said. The $1 million industry study, funded by the Energy Department, used computer modeling to simulate a strike by an airliner flying low to the ground at 350 miles per hour, similar to the speed of the commercial jetliner that struck the Pentagon more than a year ago, said the NEI, the nuclear industry's main lobbying group. The study showed that such a strike would damage a plant's ability to generate electricity, but "public health and safety would be protected," NEI President Joe Colvin said. Containment structures, used fuel storage pools and containers used to hold radioactive byproducts would withstand the impact "despite some concrete crushing and bent steel," NEI said in a statement. The results "validate the industry's confidence that nuclear power plants are robust and protect the fuel from impacts of a large commercial aircraft," Colvin said. The industry group did not release the full report, citing security concerns. Rep. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and long-time critic of the nuclear industry, criticized the report's reliance on virtual computer models. "It is less than comforting to know that the nuclear energy industry has computer models predicting that a virtual airplane carrying a virtual load of fuel ... would be unlikely to result in a virtual release of radioactivity," Markey said in a statement. CRITICS SAY PLANTS VULNERABLE Activist groups said they were not convinced that nuclear plants are safe from aircraft attack. "There are a lot of safety equipment outside of the containment that would disable and potentially lead to a meltdown," said Jim Riccio, a nuclear expert with Greenpeace. The greatest chance of causing a plant meltdown comes from a loss of off-site power, Riccio said. "If an airplane strikes one of these nuclear sites it's going to be in a world of hurt. And only the grace of God is going to prevent a meltdown," he said. Critics say that in addition to the nuclear core, another security risk is the large amount of spent fuel waste stored at most of the nation's nuclear power plants. Some 2,000 metric tonnes of nuclear waste is produced every year by the power plants, which must store the waste on site until a federal, underground repository in Nevada is completed. Several Democrats unsuccessfully pushed earlier this year to federalize the privately employed security guards at nuclear power plants as another safety precaution. Utilities and the NRC opposed the proposal. Some U.S. nuclear power plants, such as the Indian Point plant about 25 miles north of New York City, have had National Guard troops and other armed patrols keeping watch. STUDY ANALYZES ENGINE IMPACT The new study's results also apply to the damage done by an aircraft engine, which packs more punch than the fuselage because of its density. The 9,500-pound engine size assumed in the study is typical of most commercial airlines in service, NEI said. The study assumed that a fully fuel-laden Boeing 767-400 struck a containment structure at its maximum take-off weight of 450,000 pounds, even though some of that fuel would be consumed en route to any nuclear facility, NEI said. The Boeing 767 is the most widely used "wide-body" commercial aircraft in the U.S. fleet. The computer models showed no part of an airplane's engine, fuselage, wings or jet fuel entered the containment area, NEI said. Nuclear power plants provide about 20 percent of the nation's electricity. AlertNet news ***************************************************************** 29 US nuke power plants safe from air strike-industry About AlertNet Tuesday, 24 December 2002 Search 23 Dec 2002 19:58 By Chris Baltimore WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The nation's 103 operating nuclear power plant reactors could withstand a direct hit by a fuel-laden commercial airliner with no release of deadly radiation, a U.S. nuclear industry study said on Monday. Last month, the FBI warned that the U.S. nuclear industry could be the target of an attack by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network as a way to inflict massive casualties, psychological trauma and severe economic damage. Since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, lawmakers and activist groups have raised repeated concerns that a similar strike against a nuclear power plant could spew radioactive material that would kill or sicken thousands of nearby residents. A study commissioned by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) concluded such an attack could damage the thick concrete walls that surround nuclear reactors, but would not breach them. Reactors are housed in structures designed to contain the equivalent of a small nuclear explosion. The study was not sanctioned by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency charged with protecting nuclear plants. It has its own study underway, but has not set a release date, an NRC spokesman said. The $1 million industry study, funded by the Energy Department, used computer modeling to simulate a strike by an airliner flying low to the ground at 350 miles per hour, similar to the speed of the commercial jetliner that struck the Pentagon more than a year ago, said the NEI, the nuclear industry's main lobbying group. The study showed that such a strike would damage a plant's ability to generate electricity, but "public health and safety would be protected," NEI President Joe Colvin said. Containment structures, used fuel storage pools and containers used to hold radioactive byproducts would withstand the impact "despite some concrete crushing and bent steel," NEI said in a statement. The results "validate the industry's confidence that nuclear power plants are robust and protect the fuel from impacts of a large commercial aircraft," Colvin said. The industry group did not release the full report, citing security concerns. Rep. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and long-time critic of the nuclear industry, criticized the report's reliance on virtual computer models. "It is less than comforting to know that the nuclear energy industry has computer models predicting that a virtual airplane carrying a virtual load of fuel ... would be unlikely to result in a virtual release of radioactivity," Markey said in a statement. CRITICS SAY PLANTS VULNERABLE Activist groups said they were not convinced that nuclear plants are safe from aircraft attack. "There are a lot of safety equipment outside of the containment that would disable and potentially lead to a meltdown," said Jim Riccio, a nuclear expert with Greenpeace. The greatest chance of causing a plant meltdown comes from a loss of off-site power, Riccio said. "If an airplane strikes one of these nuclear sites it's going to be in a world of hurt. And only the grace of God is going to prevent a meltdown," he said. Critics say that in addition to the nuclear core, another security risk is the large amount of spent fuel waste stored at most of the nation's nuclear power plants. Some 2,000 metric tonnes of nuclear waste is produced every year by the power plants, which must store the waste on site until a federal, underground repository in Nevada is completed. Several Democrats unsuccessfully pushed earlier this year to federalize the privately employed security guards at nuclear power plants as another safety precaution. Utilities and the NRC opposed the proposal. Some U.S. nuclear power plants, such as the Indian Point plant about 25 miles north of New York City, have had National Guard troops and other armed patrols keeping watch. STUDY ANALYZES ENGINE IMPACT The new study's results also apply to the damage done by an aircraft engine, which packs more punch than the fuselage because of its density. The 9,500-pound engine size assumed in the study is typical of most commercial airlines in service, NEI said. The study assumed that a fully fuel-laden Boeing 767-400 struck a containment structure at its maximum take-off weight of 450,000 pounds, even though some of that fuel would be consumed en route to any nuclear facility, NEI said. The Boeing 767 is the most widely used "wide-body" commercial aircraft in the U.S. fleet. The computer models showed no part of an airplane's engine, fuselage, wings or jet fuel entered the containment area, NEI said. Nuclear power plants provide about 20 percent of the nation's electricity. http://www.reuters.com/> ***************************************************************** 30 Bruce Energy deal powers TSX rally Mon Dec 23, 2002 | Updated at 08:48 PM U.S. markets turn negative as 'Santa rally' eludes major retailers GILLIAN LIVINGSTON CANADIAN PRESS A hot deal in the nuclear-power industry fuelled the Toronto stock market Monday, but U.S. indexes wavered as investors weighed strong consumer spending data against disappointing retail sales. The Toronto market was ignited as troubled British Energy PLC announced it's selling its 82.4 per cent stake in Ontario's Bruce Power nuclear electricity generating partnership for up to $950 million. Uranium miner Cameco is raising its holding in Bruce Power to 31.6 per cent from 15 per cent. Also taking 31.6 per cent interests are TransCanada PipeLines and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, while two Bruce Power unions will hold 5.2 per cent. Shares in Cameco zipped up $1.46 to $38.99 after the widely expected deal was announced, while TransCanada gained 32 cents to $22.79. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index rose 67.63 points to 6,628.25, also led higher by a 3.8 per cent rise in the gold group, with Kinross Gold gaining 11 cents to $3.55 and Barrick up $1.02 to $24.62. The price of gold gained $4.60 to $345.60 (U.S.) an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The energy group was up 1.4 per cent as the price of oil rose $1.45 to $31.75 (U.S.). EnCana Corp. rose $1.43 to $49.08. Financials gained 1.4 per cent with Bank of Montreal adding 82 cents to $41.85 and Royal Bank rising 81 cents to $57.21. The junior TSX Venture Exchange edged up 9.2 points to 1,019.69. The Canadian dollar closed at 64.43 cents (U.S.), down 0.1 of a cent from Friday. Trading is expected to be light this holiday week, said Brian Acker, chief investment officer with Acker Finley Inc. in Toronto. While the TSX was led higher by gains in the gold and energy sectors, Wall Street was weighed down by mixed news about the retail sector. That renewed investor concerns about the economic recovery, the price of oil and the impact of a possible war with Iraq, said Katherine Beattie, senior technical analyst at MMS in Toronto. "That's a weight on an economy that's already struggling." In New York, the Dow industrial average fell 18.03 points to 8,493.29 after gaining 146 points Friday. The Nasdaq was up 18.64 points to 1,381.69 while the S&P 500 inched up 1.62 to 897.38. In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department reported Monday that consumers increased their spending by 0.5 per cent in November, the biggest increase in four months. The report bolstered optimism that consumers will continue spending enough to keep the American economic recovery going. Also Monday, the University of Michigan reported that consumer confidence edged up in December, matching expectations. But Federated Department Stores fell $1.08 to $27.84 (U.S.) after the company said its holiday season will fall short of its forecasts. Wal-Mart was down $1.20 at $49.59 (U.S.) after saying sales last week were at the low end of its expectations. That news is "weighing on the market and we're not enjoying a Santa Claus rally and that's unusual ... we usually get a decent bounce," said Beattie. "In addition to the decent data this morning, it's a very positive time of year and the fact that the U.S. market can't rally is a real concern." Canadians indulged in a shopping spree in October, Statistics Canada reported, with retail sales advancing 1.7 per cent in October to $26 billion, after remaining flat since June. So far this year retail sales are up 6.4 per cent, compared with the same period in 2001. Retailers were buoyed by the news. Canadian Tire rose 11 cents to $31.81, Hudson's Bay added 22 cents to $8.87 and Sears Canada was up 30 cents to $17.30. A World Trade Organization ruling Monday allows Brazil up to $385 million in counter-measures against Canada over the Canadian government's loan support for Bombardier. Its shares fell 10 cents to $5.13. In the U.S., Citigroup fell after the company said its quarterly earnings would be reduced by $1.5 billion to pay for the costs of settling charges of biased stock research, and to cover eventual regulatory and court verdicts related to its dealings with Enron. The stock closed down 46 cents to $37.68 (U.S.). Yahoo rose 64 cents to $17.72 (U.S.) after the company said it will buy Internet search software maker Inktomi for $235 million (U.S.). Sherritt International and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan extended their $1.8-billion takeover bid for Fording Inc. until Jan. 23. Sherritt stock added six cents to $4.30; Fording slipped 12 cents to $32.85. Slater Steel received a waiver on its $168-million debt. Its shares were up 62 cents at $3.91. Alternative energy company Stuart Energy Systems is acquiring Belgian hydrogen technology company Vandenborre Hydrogen Systems in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $28 million. Stuart Energy shares fell three cents to $2.25. A subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. has won a $300-million (U.S.) contract to build an ammonia plant in Australia. SNC-Lavalin shares were up five cents to $34.80. Advancers beat decliners 635 to 486 with 219 unchanged in trading of 148.7 million shares valued at $1.6 billion. The Nasdaq Canada rose 3.42 to 277.74. *Legal Notice:*- Copyright 1996-2002. Toronto Star Newspapers ***************************************************************** 31 Bruce Energy deal powers TSX rally TheStar.com - Mon Dec 23, 2002 | Updated at 08:48 PM U.S. markets turn negative as 'Santa rally' eludes major retailers GILLIAN LIVINGSTON CANADIAN PRESS A hot deal in the nuclear-power industry fuelled the Toronto stock market Monday, but U.S. indexes wavered as investors weighed strong consumer spending data against disappointing retail sales. The Toronto market was ignited as troubled British Energy PLC announced it's selling its 82.4 per cent stake in Ontario's Bruce Power nuclear electricity generating partnership for up to $950 million. Uranium miner Cameco is raising its holding in Bruce Power to 31.6 per cent from 15 per cent. Also taking 31.6 per cent interests are TransCanada PipeLines and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, while two Bruce Power unions will hold 5.2 per cent. Shares in Cameco zipped up $1.46 to $38.99 after the widely expected deal was announced, while TransCanada gained 32 cents to $22.79. Toronto's S/TSX composite index rose 67.63 points to 6,628.25, also led higher by a 3.8 per cent rise in the gold group, with Kinross Gold gaining 11 cents to $3.55 and Barrick up $1.02 to $24.62. The price of gold gained $4.60 to $345.60 (U.S.) an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The energy group was up 1.4 per cent as the price of oil rose $1.45 to $31.75 (U.S.). EnCana Corp. rose $1.43 to $49.08. Financials gained 1.4 per cent with Bank of Montreal adding 82 cents to $41.85 and Royal Bank rising 81 cents to $57.21. The junior TSX Venture Exchange edged up 9.2 points to 1,019.69. The Canadian dollar closed at 64.43 cents (U.S.), down 0.1 of a cent from Friday. Trading is expected to be light this holiday week, said Brian Acker, chief investment officer with Acker Finley Inc. in Toronto. While the TSX was led higher by gains in the gold and energy sectors, Wall Street was weighed down by mixed news about the retail sector. That renewed investor concerns about the economic recovery, the price of oil and the impact of a possible war with Iraq, said Katherine Beattie, senior technical analyst at MMS in Toronto. "That's a weight on an economy that's already struggling." In New York, the Dow industrial average fell 18.03 points to 8,493.29 after gaining 146 points Friday. The Nasdaq was up 18.64 points to 1,381.69 while the S 500 inched up 1.62 to 897.38. In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department reported Monday that consumers increased their spending by 0.5 per cent in November, the biggest increase in four months. The report bolstered optimism that consumers will continue spending enough to keep the American economic recovery going. Also Monday, the University of Michigan reported that consumer confidence edged up in December, matching expectations. But Federated Department Stores fell $1.08 to $27.84 (U.S.) after the company said its holiday season will fall short of its forecasts. Wal-Mart was down $1.20 at $49.59 (U.S.) after saying sales last week were at the low end of its expectations. That news is "weighing on the market and we're not enjoying a Santa Claus rally and that's unusual ... we usually get a decent bounce," said Beattie. "In addition to the decent data this morning, it's a very positive time of year and the fact that the U.S. market can't rally is a real concern." Canadians indulged in a shopping spree in October, Statistics Canada reported, with retail sales advancing 1.7 per cent in October to $26 billion, after remaining flat since June. So far this year retail sales are up 6.4 per cent, compared with the same period in 2001. Retailers were buoyed by the news. Canadian Tire rose 11 cents to $31.81, Hudson's Bay added 22 cents to $8.87 and Sears Canada was up 30 cents to $17.30. A World Trade Organization ruling Monday allows Brazil up to $385 million in counter-measures against Canada over the Canadian government's loan support for Bombardier. Its shares fell 10 cents to $5.13. In the U.S., Citigroup fell after the company said its quarterly earnings would be reduced by $1.5 billion to pay for the costs of settling charges of biased stock research, and to cover eventual regulatory and court verdicts related to its dealings with Enron. The stock closed down 46 cents to $37.68 (U.S.). Yahoo rose 64 cents to $17.72 (U.S.) after the company said it will buy Internet search software maker Inktomi for $235 million (U.S.). Sherritt International and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan extended their $1.8-billion takeover bid for Fording Inc. until Jan. 23. Sherritt stock added six cents to $4.30; Fording slipped 12 cents to $32.85. Slater Steel received a waiver on its $168-million debt. Its shares were up 62 cents at $3.91. Alternative energy company Stuart Energy Systems is acquiring Belgian hydrogen technology company Vandenborre Hydrogen Systems in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $28 million. Stuart Energy shares fell three cents to $2.25. A subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. has won a $300-million (U.S.) contract to build an ammonia plant in Australia. SNC-Lavalin shares were up five cents to $34.80. Advancers beat decliners 635 to 486 with 219 unchanged in trading of 148.7 million shares valued at $1.6 billion. The Nasdaq Canada rose 3.42 to 277.74. Legal Notice:- Copyright 1996-2002. Toronto Star Newspapers ***************************************************************** 32 British Energy sells Bruce Power stake Consortium also buys wind turbine venture in $770M deal Mon Dec 23, 2002 | Updated at 09:43 PM FROM CANADIAN PRESS British Energy PLC said today it will sell its 82.4 per stake in Ontario's Bruce Power nuclear complex to a consortium including uranium producer Cameco Corp., already a part owner, as well as TransCanada PipeLines and a unit of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. The consortium's three main partners will each own 31.6 per cent of Bruce Power, which produces about 15 per cent of Ontario's electricity, with the remaining 5.2 per cent owned by two unions. The consortium will pay a total of $950 million, including a $100 payment that British Energy will pass on to the Ontario government and $220 million to cover certain liabilities. British Energy said it will receive about $770 million, including $630 million in cash when the deal closes by Feb. 14, as well as up to $100 million if two shut-down reactors begin operations on schedule next summer. Although British Energy has been pushed to the edge of insolvency by low energy prices in Britain, and the Ontario government has backtracked on parts of its plans to deregulate the provincial energy market, the consortium said it believes there will be strong demand for electrical power in Canada's most populous province. The outlook for large, low-cost electricity generators in Ontario is "quite favourable," Cameco chairman and CEO Bernard Michel told analysts, so it makes "eminent sense for us to take a larger stake in Bruce Power in the wake in the crisis facing British Energy." "Ontario is one of the largest power markets in North America. And it is core to our natural gas and power businesses," TCPL chief executive Hal Kvisle told analysts after the announcement. Cameco shares (TSX: CCO ) traded at $38.90, up $1.37 or nearly four per cent. TransCanada shares (TSX: TRP ) traded at $22.72, up 25 cents or about one per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the announcements. Although Bruce Power will be TransCanada's first investment in a nuclear plant, Kvisle said the Calgary company knows the Ontario market well through its 40 years of shipping gas to Ontario and a decade in the electricity sector. "Recent actions taken by the government of Ontario with respect to power deregulation has caused some uncertainty. However, we continue to believe that the underlying fundamentals of the Ontario power market and surrounding markets remain very strong," Kvisle said. In addition, he said Bruce Power is one of the lowest-cost and most-reliable sources of electrical power in North America. In Ontario, only hydroelectric power is less expensive to produce, he said. However, the Standard & Poor's credit rating agency said Monday it was reviewing TransCanada's debt and preferred shares in light of the company's investment in Bruce Power. The review "reflects Standard & Poor's concerns about TransCanada's existing financial profile, which is weak for the ratings category, as well as the company's near- and medium-term acquisition strategy, and the risk profile associated with its unregulated businesses," S&P analyst Michelle Dathorne said. The purchasing consortium will assume British Energy's financial assurance obligations to maintain Bruce Power's licence from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Commission staff recommended earlier this month that Bruce Power not be allowed to refuel two reactors until the company's ownership was sorted out. British regulators had told British Energy - facing bankruptcy as a result of low electricity prices in the deregulated U.K. power market - to sell its Bruce Power stake. In addition, Ontario Premier Ernie Eves caused upheaval in the industry in November when he announced prices for low-volume users, such as residential and small-business customers, would be capped and rebates provided. Eves was responding, in part, to outrage over summer electricity prices which were pushed up by a combination of high demand as people cranked up their air conditioners in unusually hot weather coupled with an energy shortage due to delays in restoring reactors at the Pickering nuclear plant, east of Toronto. Bruce Power, a stand-alone operation employing 3,200 people, operates eight nuclear reactors near Kincardine, Ont., on the shore of Lake Huron northwest of Toronto. Four of the Bruce reactors have been shut down but two are expected to resume operations by next August. In addition to the nuclear facilities, the Bruce Power consortium will buy British Energy's half-interest in Huron Wind - five 1.8-megawatt wind-powered turbines near the Bruce nuclear complex on the shore of Lake Huron. The Bruce plant is actually owned by Ontario Power Generation - the successor to the former Ontario Hydro - and leased to the private-sector operators. However, OPG retains responsibility for the costly task of disposing of the radioactive spent fuel and eventually decommissioning the reactors. The Ontario government welcomed Monday's announcement. "This agreement sends a clear signal that investor confidence is still strong in Ontario's electricity market," said Energy Minister John Baird. New Democrat Leader Howard Hampton, an opponent of energy deregulation and privatization, said the new owners will get a substantial windfall at taxpayers' expense. "The provincial auditor estimated that every 10 per cent increase in electricity rates would provide a windfall of $285 million over the life of the Bruce lease," Hampton said in a release. "Prices this year have been 30 per cent higher. If this continues, and there is lots of evidence to suggest it will, the new owners will get an extra $855 million." *Legal Notice:*- Copyright 1996-2002. Toronto Star Newspapers republication of any material from www.thestar.com ***************************************************************** 33 British Energy sells Bruce Power stake TheStar.com - Mon Dec 23, 2002 | Updated at 09:43 PM DICK LOEK/TORONTO STAR FILE POWER PROBLEMS: The mammoth Bruce nuclear plant is located on Lake Huron, near Kincardine. Consortium also buys wind turbine venture in $770M deal FROM CANADIAN PRESS British Energy PLC said today it will sell its 82.4 per stake in Ontario's Bruce Power nuclear complex to a consortium including uranium producer Cameco Corp., already a part owner, as well as TransCanada PipeLines and a unit of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. The consortium's three main partners will each own 31.6 per cent of Bruce Power, which produces about 15 per cent of Ontario's electricity, with the remaining 5.2 per cent owned by two unions. The consortium will pay a total of $950 million, including a $100 payment that British Energy will pass on to the Ontario government and $220 million to cover certain liabilities. British Energy said it will receive about $770 million, including $630 million in cash when the deal closes by Feb. 14, as well as up to $100 million if two shut-down reactors begin operations on schedule next summer. Although British Energy has been pushed to the edge of insolvency by low energy prices in Britain, and the Ontario government has backtracked on parts of its plans to deregulate the provincial energy market, the consortium said it believes there will be strong demand for electrical power in Canada's most populous province. The outlook for large, low-cost electricity generators in Ontario is "quite favourable," Cameco chairman and CEO Bernard Michel told analysts, so it makes "eminent sense for us to take a larger stake in Bruce Power in the wake in the crisis facing British Energy." "Ontario is one of the largest power markets in North America. And it is core to our natural gas and power businesses," TCPL chief executive Hal Kvisle told analysts after the announcement. Cameco shares (TSX: CCO) traded at $38.90, up $1.37 or nearly four per cent. TransCanada shares (TSX: TRP) traded at $22.72, up 25 cents or about one per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the announcements. Although Bruce Power will be TransCanada's first investment in a nuclear plant, Kvisle said the Calgary company knows the Ontario market well through its 40 years of shipping gas to Ontario and a decade in the electricity sector. "Recent actions taken by the government of Ontario with respect to power deregulation has caused some uncertainty. However, we continue to believe that the underlying fundamentals of the Ontario power market and surrounding markets remain very strong," Kvisle said. In addition, he said Bruce Power is one of the lowest-cost and most-reliable sources of electrical power in North America. In Ontario, only hydroelectric power is less expensive to produce, he said. However, the Standard &Poor's credit rating agency said Monday it was reviewing TransCanada's debt and preferred shares in light of the company's investment in Bruce Power. The review "reflects Standard &Poor's concerns about TransCanada's existing financial profile, which is weak for the ratings category, as well as the company's near- and medium-term acquisition strategy, and the risk profile associated with its unregulated businesses," S analyst Michelle Dathorne said. The purchasing consortium will assume British Energy's financial assurance obligations to maintain Bruce Power's licence from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Commission staff recommended earlier this month that Bruce Power not be allowed to refuel two reactors until the company's ownership was sorted out. British regulators had told British Energy - facing bankruptcy as a result of low electricity prices in the deregulated U.K. power market - to sell its Bruce Power stake. In addition, Ontario Premier Ernie Eves caused upheaval in the industry in November when he announced prices for low-volume users, such as residential and small-business customers, would be capped and rebates provided. Eves was responding, in part, to outrage over summer electricity prices which were pushed up by a combination of high demand as people cranked up their air conditioners in unusually hot weather coupled with an energy shortage due to delays in restoring reactors at the Pickering nuclear plant, east of Toronto. Bruce Power, a stand-alone operation employing 3,200 people, operates eight nuclear reactors near Kincardine, Ont., on the shore of Lake Huron northwest of Toronto. Four of the Bruce reactors have been shut down but two are expected to resume operations by next August. In addition to the nuclear facilities, the Bruce Power consortium will buy British Energy's half-interest in Huron Wind - five 1.8-megawatt wind-powered turbines near the Bruce nuclear complex on the shore of Lake Huron. The Bruce plant is actually owned by Ontario Power Generation - the successor to the former Ontario Hydro - and leased to the private-sector operators. However, OPG retains responsibility for the costly task of disposing of the radioactive spent fuel and eventually decommissioning the reactors. The Ontario government welcomed Monday's announcement. "This agreement sends a clear signal that investor confidence is still strong in Ontario's electricity market," said Energy Minister John Baird. New Democrat Leader Howard Hampton, an opponent of energy deregulation and privatization, said the new owners will get a substantial windfall at taxpayers' expense. "The provincial auditor estimated that every 10 per cent increase in electricity rates would provide a windfall of $285 million over the life of the Bruce lease," Hampton said in a release. "Prices this year have been 30 per cent higher. If this continues, and there is lots of evidence to suggest it will, the new owners will get an extra $855 million." Legal Notice:- Copyright 1996-2002. Toronto Star Newspapers ***************************************************************** 34 Team finds troubling practices [DesMoinesRegister.com] By Register Staff Report 12/22/2002 Here are some preliminary conclusions made by a University of Iowa health team that is researching ailments connected to the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant: * There were several well-documented sources of potentially significant radiation exposures. However, "many production workers and others potentially at risk were not monitored" for radiation. Records indicate that only 15 percent - 600 people out of 4,000 who worked on Line 1 - were monitored. * Of those monitored for radiation, women were among the production workers with higher exposures. There are reports by workers that some women worked on the production line throughout their pregnancies. * Samples taken after work areas were cleaned indicate "persistent surface beryllium contamination," which suggests "airborne exposures existed." * It is estimated that 8,800 pounds of depleted uranium were exploded at test-firing sites at the plant. Firing-site employees were responsible for picking up hot shards of the depleted uranium after the explosions. Interviews with former firing-site workers show that several have bladder cancer. * A 1947 intelligence check sheet documents that one worker died of TNT poisoning and four were sickened by it. Copyright © 2002, The Des Moines Register. ***************************************************************** 35 Hazards at Iowa Army Ammunition Plant [DesMoinesRegister.com] By Register Staff Report 12/22/2002 University of Iowa researchers still are waiting for the Department of Energy to declassify a large number of documents, but they have pieced together this snapshot of the hazards that plagued the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. Beryllium SOURCES: Light machining or abrasive sanding of beryllium alloy components and tools during assembly of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons. HEALTH RISKS: May cause fatal lung disease when breathed. Chronic beryllium disease is incurable and has emphysema-like symptoms. Radiation SOURCES AND TYPES: Uranium, plutonium and tritium from nuclear weapons components, radiographic equipment, depleted uranium and radon. Airborne radioactive contamination existed, and workers could have contaminated other areas or co-workers by tracking through contaminated floors or contacting contaminated surfaces. HEALTH RISK: Cancer. High explosives SOURCES AND TYPES: TNT, RDX, HMX and tetryl used in assembly processes. HEALTH RISKS: Skin discoloration, dermatitis, liver damage, neurological damage, leukemia, cataracts and digestive disorders. Some elements are classified as possible carcinogens. Asbestos SOURCE: Above-ground asbestos-coated steam pipes and miles of asbestos-lined tunnels. HEALTH RISKS: Cancer and asbestosis, a lung disease. Solvents SOURCE AND TYPES: Acetone, toluene, alcohols, methyl isobutyl ketone, xylene and other solvents used extensively to clean component parts in the assembly and production operations. HEALTH RISKS: Chronic neurological, liver or bone-marrow disease. MOCA SOURCE: A sealant used extensively to bond weapons components. HEALTH RISKS: Bladder cancer. Source: University of Iowa College of Public Health Details on ammunition production How a nuclear bomb works Health concerns Photo galleries One woman's life: Bernice Findley A Day in the Life: Bobby Richardson 25 years together: Bobby and Debby Richardson New life Around the plant Skeptic and pessimist: Vaughn Moore Generations: Vera Anderson No help coming: Lela and Fred Miller Looking for answers The final days A century of production Related Web sites: MILITARY www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/aap-iowa.htm GlobalSecurity.org, a non-profit non-partisan policy research group, provides a complimentary assessment of the work done at the plant. www.dtic.mil/envirodod/derpreport/iowaaap.html The Defense Technical Information Center, which collects and publishes scientific and technical information for the Department of Defense, summarizes some environmental cleanup work. HEALTH www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/iowaarmy/iaa_toc.html An assessment by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ENVIRONMENT www.nwd.usace.army.mil/pm/partner.98/HOWE/INDEX.HTM The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers presents a Powerpoint presentation explaining how various federal agencies are cooperating in the environmental cleanup. www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/nar1265.htm The Environmental Protection Agency's intitial assessment of problems at the plant site. CONGRESS harkin.senate.gov/iaap/index.cfm Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa has been involved in addressing environmental and health concerns at the plant. BUSINESS www.bmpcoe.org/bestpractices/external/mash/summary.html Best Manufacturing Practices, an industry and government cooperative, lauds the management practices of Mason &Hanger-Silas Mason Co. Inc., which until recently adminstered the Middletown plant. Copyright © 2002, The Des Moines Register. ***************************************************************** 37 [radiation-survivors] Yucca Mountain Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 21:56:24 -0600 (CST) http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/oct02/yuc.html Yucca Mountain: Pro & Con Is Nevada's ridge of volcanic rock our best hope for storing nuclear waste or the centerpiece of a public relations ploy? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Taking the High Ground By B. John Garrick, Fellow, American Nuclear Society PRO Years ago, before the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, antinuclear activists complained that there was no satisfactory method of permanently disposing of nuclear waste. Today, almost 25 years later, they're still upset. Only now, it's the possibility of permanent waste disposal that has them up in arms. Lately the focus of their wrath has been the decision of the U.S. Congress to grant permission to the Department of Energy (DOE) to seek a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build a repository for nuclear waste. The point merits elaboration: DOE does not yet have permission to build a repository. It would be a decade, at least, before the department could begin sequestering waste canisters there. This fact seems not to have registered with many of those who oppose the recent congressional decision. The repository would be built under Yucca Mountain in Nevada, where the DOE and its contractors have been conducting tests for more than 20 years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two hundred and fifty meters beneath Nevada's Yucca Mountain, a worker walks along the tunnel that would become the main passageway through any future nuclear waste repository at the site. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Opponents have criticized the Yucca plan on several grounds. They say that the Yucca site is unsuitable because its geology could not possibly isolate nuclear waste for the thousands of years that the waste would be harmful. They say the DOE's analysis has been sloppy. They insist that a single underground repository is not needed, and that trucking the waste thousands of kilometers to the site of such a repository would present grave risks. They argue that Yucca is a public relations ploy designed to convince people that the nuclear waste problem is being solved. I have studied all of these issues and more. My conclusion is that hardly any of these objections hold up to close scrutiny, and even those certainly do not justify halting the project. Tuff stuff First of all, why Yucca? There are several reasons. Yucca is relatively isolated from population centers. It is also right next to a de facto repository that for decades has contained countless millions and millions of curies of radioactivity without instability. It's called the Nevada Test Site, where the United States conducted scores of underground and other nuclear weapons tests from 1951 to 1992. Perhaps most important, Yucca receives an average of only 15 cm of rainfall each year. This lack of precipitation is notable because the main function of the repository would be ensuring that water does not corrode the containers of waste and enable particles of that waste to migrate beyond the boundaries of the repository. In this context, it is significant that the valley below Yucca Mountain is a largely closed drainage system that prevents most water from moving far from the site. Finally, Yucca Mountain is made up of a reconsolidated volcanic ash called tuff. This extremely stable rock could easily absorb, without cracking or crumbling, the heat that would be thrown off by the packages of high-level waste. For the DOE, though, evidence of Yucca's present suitability won't suffice. Before it can get a license to build a repository at Yucca, it has to submit a detailed probabilistic risk assessment to show that the repository would not-for 10 000 years-expose populations to radiation levels beyond 0.15 millisievert per year. (For perspective, consider that a single transpolar flight exposes you to about 0.1 mSv.) Years ago, the DOE strove to demonstrate that the site's geology and hydrology would be the primary factors in isolating the waste for at least 10 000 years. More recently, it has sought to show that a combination of natural setting (Yucca) and engineered systems (waste canisters and other structures) will do the job. Critics have nevertheless gone on questioning whether the site's geology alone could isolate the waste for at least 10 000 years. This is the wrong question. A much better one is, can we find a safe, secure, and cost-effective way to isolate high-level nuclear waste from human life for at least 10 000 years? Our engineering capabilities have improved dramatically over the past 20 years. Today we can build protective barriers and waste packages that can come close to meeting the 10 000-year standard all by themselves. Why shouldn't we exploit this knowledge? Obviously, the most prudent approach is to put the best engineered systems in a favorable setting. We call this defense-in-depth, and it has long been the hallmark of nuclear safety engineering. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Congress wisely allowed the DOE to apply for a license; now the NRC must make sure the DOE performs a more realistic risk assessment than it has done so far -------------------------------------------------------------------------- None of this is to suggest that the DOE's work, and particularly its analysis, has been above reproach. In fact, the department has relied on assumptions that mask a realistic assessment of the risk. Some of its computer models, for example, rely on assumptions that are not supported by the available evidence. Another problem is that the DOE has sharply focused its analyses and models on meeting the regulations. A more reassuring approach would be to study the risks in a neutral way, unbiased by the regulations. This problem, however, is one the NRC will have ample opportunity to rectify when it reviews the DOE's application for a license to build a repository at Yucca. And I have faith that the NRC will not flinch from its responsibility. The commission has already demanded that the license application for Yucca Mountain be "risk-informed." Congress wisely allowed the DOE to apply for the license; it is now up to the NRC to make sure the DOE performs a more comprehensive and realistic risk assessment than it has done so far. Risks in perspective Why go through all this effort and expense if, as opponents point out, there is no storage crisis today? Simply put, the waste-storage system we have today-a combination of cooling pools and large "dry" casks that sit at the reactor sites-requires active management and is in no way a permanent solution. About 40 000 tons of spent nuclear fuel are stored in pools at 110 operating and closed reactor sites across the United States, with 2000 more tons added each year. This storage is safe, well managed, and, relative to the electricity produced, inexpensive. It could probably be expanded indefinitely. Some of the older fuel rods, whose radioactivity and heat have been greatly reduced, are now being put into dry casks for storage at the nuclear power plant sites. While these pools and casks keep the spent fuel safe, each of them must be monitored and guarded 24 hours a day. Many of the pools, which are in 34 states, are close to population centers and all depend on redundant electrical pumps and cooling systems. Those pools, as well as the dry cask storage facilities, might also make a tempting target for terrorists. The risk of a terrorist strike on these sites is admittedly not that great. But it's greater than the risk would be at Yucca Mountain, where the waste would be hundreds of meters underground and where no unauthorized vehicle could approach without prompting a visit from a military helicopter. Critics have also hypothesized all sorts of dangers involved in transporting the waste to the repository. In fact, the risks are close to zero. We have been moving radioactive waste all over the nation for over 50 years, and there have been no fatalities resulting from radiation exposure. No form of power generation is risk free. There are risks associated with nuclear power plants, with the transportation of hazardous wastes, with the mining of uranium, and with the storage of hazardous wastes. There are also risks and health hazards connected to mining and burning coal, tapping and using natural gas, or building and operating hydroelectric dams. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people die each year in coal mines or from respiratory ailments linked to coal combustion. If you calculate the number of fatalities worldwide associated with other generating options, as several organizations have done in recent years, you find that the number of deaths per gigawatt-year for hydroelectricity is 0.80, thanks to some catastrophic dam failures in India, Colombia, and Romania. For nuclear power the figure is 0.01. All of the nuclear-related deaths-31 of them-were of plant and emergency workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. A new mindset As long as the focus is on burying high-level waste forever, without any possibility of even an infinitesimal leak, the nuclear industry will lose. That is an unachievable and ridiculous goal, and an unnecessary one. We need to get rid of the permanent-disposal mindset. We don't use that philosophy with other wastes, and we shouldn't here. What we should do is put the waste in a place like Yucca Mountain, where we can keep an eye on it, and reclaim it if, centuries from now, we invent more expeditious technologies to dispose of it. Alternatively, we can close up the mountain if new knowledge, new generations of people, and new confidence make that a desirable thing to do. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A worker approaches the tunnel entrance, under the ventilation tubes that funnel fresh air to test facilities in the passages below. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- That is not to say that Yucca Mountain doesn't need to do its job for 10 000 years. It should be built to do precisely that job, with no human intervention. But there's no reason why we shouldn't continue to monitor things. Much of the outcry against Yucca Mountain has come from Nevada's residents and congressional representatives. They resent the idea of being the nation's nuclear dumping ground. They suspect that the barrenness of much of the state, and the relatively small size of its congressional delegation, have made it the jurisdiction least able to defend itself against a national high-level-waste repository. They're probably right. This is a political problem, and there are positive ways of addressing it. Many places, including the entire country of Sweden, have learned to stop worrying and embrace nuclear power. Constellation Energy Group (Baltimore, Md.) a few years ago applied for renewal of its license to operate the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant (Lusby, Md.). Huge throngs turned out in support, and Mary Krug, a former county commissioner, said the plant "had no local opposition." It's not hard to see why. Calvert Cliffs employs 1200 people, three-quarters of whom live in Calvert County. The plant's operators donate millions of dollars to local charities. The plant also pays US $20 million a year in county property taxes. Not incidentally, the plant has performed extremely well and has demonstrated to its neighbors that it is environmentally clean and safe. A repository at Yucca, employing hundreds of people for decades, could also improve the local economy. There's plenty of room for growth. Some of my colleagues have shared with me in private their view that Nevadans do not resent the sprawling and cratered Nevada Test Site because it was a Nevada project from the beginning. Yucca, on the other hand, is something foisted upon them by Washington. There is no getting around that. But in making the best of this situation, they would be doing their country-and maybe even themselves-a great service. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Burying Nuclear Power By Victor Gilinsky, Former Commissioner, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission CON Burying nuclear waste deep beneath Yucca Mountain in Nevada, as the U.S. Department of Energy proposes to do, is neither an urgent necessity nor a rational, long-term solution to the problem of nuclear waste. The real point of this plan is to enhance the current prospects of nuclear energy by giving the impression that the nuclear waste problem has been "solved" once and for all. It has become a kind of giant entitlement program that will ensure outsize budgets-and controversy-for the Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractors for many decades to come. This ill-advised endeavor got a major boost this past July, when the U.S. Senate voted to support President George W. Bush's earlier recommendation of the repository site. The House of Representatives had voted its approval earlier, in May. The tallies cleared the way for the DOE to file for a construction permit from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). By law, the DOE must do this by 23 October. But it doesn't have its act together and admits it won't be able to file before December 2004. So far, the DOE and its contractors have dug a 7.6-meter-wide U-shaped tunnel into the mountain. This 8-km loop is being used for studies of the site; it would also be the main access tunnel of a future repository. The idea is to package the waste-mostly power-reactor spent-fuel assemblies about 4 meters long and half a metric ton each-in metal canisters. These would be loaded into passages sprouting off the main tunnel, some 300 meters below the top of the mountain and about 300 meters above the groundwater at the site. "Studied to death?" The DOE has spent US $7 billion and 20 years studying Yucca Mountain. Nevertheless, it has not even made the most basic design decision: whether the repository will be hot or cool, a decision fundamental to controlling water corrosion of the canisters containing radioactive waste. Water not only corrodes the canisters; it would also convey loose waste particles outside the repository, where they could harm people. In a so-called hot repository, the canisters are packed so closely that the temperature around them rises well above the boiling point of water, which is then expelled, in theory, anyway. The trouble is that at high temperatures corrosion rates are higher, too. The performance of a cool repository would be more predictable, but it would be much larger and would also require waste to cool on the surface for decades before it could be placed underground. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The DOE has spent 20 years and $7 billion studying Yucca but still has not made the most basic decision: whether the repository will be hot or cool -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The DOE has favored the hot repository idea, but hasn't won over its scientific overseers. A few years ago, attempting to prove the concept, the DOE installed heaters in underground chambers to simulate the hot fuel. I toured Yucca Mountain not long after, in May 2000. As I stood looking at the tunnel ceiling, I was surprised when water dripped down on my face. The heaters had driven water vapor out of the immediate area, but it condensed when it hit cooler rock and dripped down-not a good omen. The bottom line is that the DOE has not satisfactorily dealt with the water problems and their interaction with heat from radioactive spent fuel. Acknowledging that heat probably will not be enough to keep water away from the waste canisters, the DOE now says it will protect each one with a titanium drip shield. These big umbrellas will add an estimated $4 billion to the repository cost. This engineering patch is yet another example of how the DOE continues to re-tailor its rationales to keep the project going in the face of obvious deficiencies. From 1984 until the mid-1990s, the department insisted that it would approve or reject the site primarily on the ability of its geology to isolate the waste. "Primarily" is exactly what the law requires. But when the DOE's tests found problems, including much more water than expected, it backed away from that promise. Last December the DOE dropped its geological criteria and adopted a different, and much weaker, standard. This only requires that the site be deemed capable of meeting the NRC's licensing rule, which has no separate requirements for geologic waste isolation. It simply requires that people living near the repository not be exposed to radiation levels beyond a certain limit for 10 000 years. In other words, the site geology does not matter if the DOE can convince NRC, as it plans to do, that its canister-made of Alloy 22, a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy-can last 10 000 years. But if the canister is so good, why choose a deep underground storage site thousands of kilometers away from most of the reactors that produce the waste? Not surprisingly, Nevada is contesting the change in tactic in federal court. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Train cars ferry workers and test equipment into the tunnels dug beneath Yucca Mountain. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aside from the law, does a separate geologic requirement really matter, so long as people are protected for the foreseeable future? Yes, because the assurance of protection in this case hinges on an extreme extrapolation from a limited database on the performance of materials and systems. The new standard lets the DOE put all the different factors-such as the characteristics of the canisters and the site's geology-into a computer model that estimates ground radiation doses 10 000 years into the future. That may sound impressive. In reality, because of the enormous complexities of the model, the uncertainty of the inputs, and the many arbitrary assumptions, it has been a recipe for masking problems. "Masking" is precisely the word used by the NRC's own Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste, in a 2001 report on the DOE's Total System Performance Assess-ment-Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR): "The masking of realism in the TSPA-SR precludes providing a clear basis to estimate the margins of safety, or making an objective regulatory decision that is in the best public interest." The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, an independent scientific agency created by Congress in 1987, had serious concerns about the DOE's near-total reliance on the canisters to pass the NRC's licensing standard. In January 2002, the review board pointed out that "data on aqueous corrosion for Alloy 22 above about 120 :C under conditions relevant to Yucca Mountain are essentially nonexistent." As one of the board members said earlier, "We are betting the performance of the systems on the long-term performance of these effectively new materials." In an April 2002 report, the board reviewed the technical underpinnings of DOE's repository performance estimates and characterized them as "weak to moderate," hardly a vote of confidence. Uninspiring behavior Once canisters containing tons of radioactive waste are permanently buried in underground tunnels, we won't be able to make up for serious miscalculations or erroneous assumptions. What's more, the safety issues are complex and inevitably involve some degree of judgment. In the final analysis, a lot depends on the competence and sense of public responsibility of the DOE and its contractors. Here, unfortunately, DOE's performance over the past couple of decades does little to inspire confidence. It has struggled for years with its own waste sites. At Hanford, Wash., for example, it has spent about $5 billion on waste-related work, with discouraging results [see "Money for Nothing," IEEE Spectrum, July 2002, p. 12]. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The assurance of protection hinges on an extreme extrapolation from a limited database on the performance of materials and systems -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lately, in the face of intense scientific criticism, the department has invoked national security arguments to defend Yucca Mountain. The most egregious of these preys upon public fears, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, that terrorists might attack the hundred or so reactor spent-fuel pools where irradiated fuel cools, or the so-called dry casks in which it is subsequently stored. The department cultivated the public impression that if Yucca Mountain were approved, it would promptly collect spent fuel from the reactor sites and lock it away deep underground. The truth is that it would take the DOE several decades to collect the spent fuel and salt it away underground. In any case, since spent fuel has to cool at the reactor site for at least several years, there will be spent-fuel storage at reactor sites so long as there are operating power reactors. Naturally, these NRC-licensed sites are heavily protected. Strip away all the rhetoric and slanted studies, and it becomes clear that the Yucca Mountain project has little to do with public safety, or security, or even the lack of storage capacity at power reactor sites. It has to do with the nuclear industry's idea of how to rectify public "perceptions." Consider this bit of testimony before the U.S. Senate in 1981 by Sherwood H. Smith, a top nuclear utility official speaking for the industry as a whole: "The reasons why the utilities have consistently urged the Federal Government to implement promptly a waste management program are principally neither economic nor technical....Both spent fuel and vitrified high-level wastes can be stored for centuries safely in above-ground orsub-surface 'temporary'storage.... Despite this, however, the public equates the absence of a disposal facility with the absence of a solution to the nuclear waste management 'problem'....The best way to change this perception is to have one acceptable permanent waste management facility in being. Once the public can see a geological repository under way, we believe this perception will change." A billion dollars per reactor? The problem is that the estimated cost of this exercise in public relations has increased wildly from about $1 billion to something in excess of $60 billion, according to the DOE's latest projection, and is likely to grow to $100 billion, in my view. That's about a billion dollars per power reactor, or over $1000 per U.S. family. It is a funding dream for the DOE and its contractors, but not for you and me. Proponents seem unwilling to grasp that Yucca Mountain is not needed to continue, or even expand, nuclear power use. There is ample opportunity to expand NRC-approved dry-cask storage at reactor sites. Eventually, these casks should be collected at dedicated near-surface storage locations where we can monitor the casks' integrity. The important thing is that there be sufficient time to do a responsible job in terms of safety and security, and at far lower cost than we would pay at Yucca Mountain. Yucca Mountain isn't the answer to our spent-fuel worries. But now that Congress has given the DOE a green light, events will have to run their contentious course in the federal courts and at the NRC before the nation gets it right. Ironically, the coming struggle is likely to damage rather than enhance the prospects of nuclear energy. See To Probe Further To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: radiation-survivors-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com ----- Are you looking for a good computer help list? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComputersForSeniors/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ [demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of yuc01.jpg] [demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of yuc03.jpg] [demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of yuc02.jpg] ***************************************************************** 38 AU: Premier tells PM: don't railroad us on nuclear waste dump - smh.com.au By Aban Contractor December 24 2002 The Federal Government should think twice before using its constitutional powers to force a state or territory to store hazardous nuclear waste, the NSW Government warned yesterday. The Premier, Bob Carr, and the Environment Minister, Bob Debus, said the community had legitimate concerns about the transport and storage of highly radioactive nuclear waste near residential areas. And, while the Federal Government had the power to override the states, it would be a long political battle. Mr Debus said: "I can assure the Federal Government that, as Minister for the Environment, I would lead a co-ordinated community movement against any attempt to truck nuclear waste across NSW, especially through heavily populated and environmentally sensitive areas, including my own electorate of the Blue Mountains. "For the last 16 years NSW has had legislation in place to prohibit the dumping of nuclear waste. But, we should be clear, the Commonwealth can easily override the legislation, and these matters are inevitably dealt with as issues of politics and not of law." ");document.write(" advertisement "); } } // --> Mr Carr said that "legitimate concerns have been expressed by the community, and the Federal Government must explain what it's doing". The NSW Government was responding to revelations in yesterday's Herald that the Federal Government planned to use its constitutional powers to override the objections of state governments and build a swimming pool-sized concrete bunker to store what it called "intermediate waste" on commonwealth land. Environmental groups responded angrily to the news, with a spokesman for Friends of the Earth, Bruce Thompson, saying opposition in rural and regional NSW was growing. South Australia and Western Australia had already legislated against nuclear disposal in their states and the matter could end up in the High Court, Mr Thompson said. "Canberra is currently examining a range of dump sites including one near Broken Hill. This is an emerging issue in the coming NSW state election. The Federal Government's plan for Australia's nuclear waste is a crude attempt to solve a complex problem." However, the federal Science Minister, Peter McGauran, hit back, saying claims by Greenpeace that transporting nuclear waste was unsafe and constituted a terrorist target were irresponsible and wrong. "The national store for storage of intermediate level waste will manage radioactive waste generated by commonwealth agencies. The national store will be a purpose-built, above-ground facility." Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 39 AU: McGauran trades nuclear blasts The Australian: [December 23, 2002] This story is from our news.com.au network Source: AAP By Denis Peters December 23, 2002 SCIENCE Minister Peter McGauran today accused Greenpeace of being irresponsible and wrong in claiming transported nuclear waste was unsafe and would become a terrorism target. His accusation followed outrage at reported federal government plans to override the states in any objections to transporting nuclear waste from Lucas Heights across Australia to an outback dump. The report said officials told a Senate committee hearing last week the Government hoped to have a short list of sites drawn up by March next year, with the dump to be up and running within two years. The dump would be built on Commonwealth land, with the Commonwealth able to override State bids to block the facility by using the constitutional power giving federal law precedence over state laws, the committee heard. Mr McGauran said more than 30,000 packages of radioactive material were routinely and safely transported each year. The materials were in solid form and transported within and between major Australian cities and towns for a variety of purposes relating to normal, day-to-day activities. But Greenpeace said the States would challenge a federal veto and there would be protests along the route from local communities if the waste was to be transported across Australia. "As long as Australia has a nuclear technology we're going to have to deal with issues like this, like transportation of waste," Greenpeace campaigner Lena Aahlby said. She said the Federal Government itself had labelled the Lucas Heights reactor a potential terrorist target. "So, concluding from that, any transportation of high-level waste would also be considered a terrorist target, I assume." Ms Aahlby said rural communities would be up in arms if the waste came through their areas. "They will probably protest all the way, I would expect." Friends of the Earth spokeswoman Loretta O'Brien said the first stage of the Government's plan would produce more than 130 truckloads of radioactive waste passing through rural communities next year. "Any movement of radioactive waste would place significant demands on the planning, resources and response capacity of regional emergency services," Ms O'Brien said. "The transportation and dumping of nuclear waste presents a real risk of radioactive exposure to people, agricultural land and the broader environment." Labor environment spokesman Kelvin Thomson said the federal government plan to override the States was contemptuous of community views, particularly in SA where the state government had passed legislation to prevent establishment of a nuclear waste dump. "It is deeply ironic that a Liberal government, which has always claimed to be strongly supportive of states' rights should take such a cavalier approach to the views of local communities reflected in State government positions," he said. © The Australian ***************************************************************** 40 AU: Greens, ALP slam radioactive waste dump - smh.com.au December 24 2002 The federal government was contemptuous of community views in proposing to use constitutional powers to override objections to the transport and storage of nuclear waste, the federal opposition said today. Labor environment spokesman Kelvin Thomson said the federal government's plans to use its constitutional powers under Section 109 to override state government objections to transport and dump the waste was contemptuous. "That is contemptuous of the community views, particularly in South Australia where the South Australian government has passed legislation which would prevent the establishment of a nuclear waste dump in that state," he said. Science Minister Peter McGauran today accused Greenpeace of being irresponsible and wrong in claiming transported nuclear waste was unsafe and would become a terrorism target. His accusation followed outrage at reported federal government plans to override the states in any objections to transporting nuclear waste from Lucas Heights across Australia to an outback dump. ");document.write(" advertisement "); } } // --> The report said officials told a Senate committee hearing last week the government hoped to have a short list of sites drawn up by March next year, with the dump to be up and running within two years. "It is deeply ironic that a Liberal government, which has always claimed to be strongly supportive of states' rights should take such a cavalier approach to the views of local communities reflected in state government positions," Mr Thomson said. Section 109 provides for commonwealth law to override state law where there is an inconsistency. Mr Thomson said Labor believed the federal government needed to work with local communities and have regard to their views rather than seek to impose a waste dump on an unwilling community. "This needs to be a matter of consultation and local say, particularly in the case of South Australia where the federal government has been proposing to install a dump for local level nuclear waste," he said. Mr McGauran said more than 30,000 packages of radioactive material were routinely and safely transported each year. The materials were in solid form and transported within and between major Australian cities and towns for a variety of purposes relating to normal, day-to-day activities. But Greenpeace said the states would challenge a federal veto and there would be protests along the route from local communities if the waste was to be transported across Australia. "As long as Australia has a nuclear technology we're going to have to deal with issues like this, like transportation of waste," Greenpeace campaigner Lena Aahlby told AAP. She said the federal government itself had labelled the Lucas Heights reactor a potential terrorist target. "So, concluding from that, any transportation of high-level waste would also be considered a terrorist target, I assume." Ms Aahlby said rural communities would be up in arms if the waste came through their areas. "They will probably protest all the way, I would expect." Friends of the Earth spokeswoman Loretta O'Brien said the first stage of the government's plan would produce more than 130 truckloads of radioactive waste passing through rural communities next year. "Any movement of radioactive waste would place significant demands on the planning, resources and response capacity of regional emergency services," Ms O'Brien said. AAP Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. | contact us ***************************************************************** 41 Proposed nuclear dump called terror 'bull's-eye' TheStar.com - Mon Dec 23, 2002 | Updated at 07:44 AM OTTAWA (CP) — An outdoor radioactive waste dump, a financially troubled company, and one of the world's primary freshwater sources are a lethal mix, environmentalists said today. They issued that assessment as they called for a public, international review of a proposal to store high-level nuclear waste at the Bruce nuclear power station on the shores of Lake Huron. "This facility . . . would be a primary terrorist target," said Kevin Kamps, an anti-nuclear activist from Michigan. "It would represent a radioactive bull's-eye in the heart of the Great Lakes, a terrorist's dream-come-true." British Energy Corp., the financially troubled parent company of Bruce Power, recently received a multibillion-dollar British government bailout. Now, Ontario Power Generation, the company that owns and leases eight reactors to Bruce Power and operates the waste storage facilities there, is asking the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for special status. If given, it would effectively grant the facilities public financial protection for what one activist called "the highest concentration of nuclear risk in the world." Under Canada's Nuclear Liability Act, insurance companies would have to cover only $75 million of liability in the event of a radioactive leak. By comparison, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster has cost the governments of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia more than $350 billion. Europe requires at least $600 million coverage for each nuclear facility. "The Canadian government is setting itself up for financial extortion," said Michael Keegan, chairman of the Coalition for a Nuclear Free Great Lakes. "Once that waste is in place, the Canadian government cannot say: `We will not subsidize this any longer.' The corporation will go bankrupt, but the Canadian government will be left holding the bag." The coalition wants government to order nuclear facilities to set aside bankrupt-proof, segregated funds for decommissioning and waste management. A spokesman for Bruce noted that Thursday the Nuclear Safety Commission endorsed Bruce Power's safety record. "CNSC staff have not observed anything to indicate that the current financial problems being experienced by British Energy PLC have had an adverse impact on safe operations at the Bruce site," said the commission. John Earl, a spokesman for Ontario Power Generation, said his firm has followed a detailed approval process to expand its waste management facilities at Bruce. "We have to ensure we meet and we certainly do meet all the regulatory requirements," said Earl. "There have been a number of hearings and the hearings are open to the public. "People can express their concerns to the regulator and if the regulator believes there is opportunity for adjustment then they would ask . . . for those adjustments and we would, of course, oblige." The International Atomic Energy Agency has designated the Bruce facility the most concentrated nuclear site in the world. An accident or terrorist attack at the site could contaminate 20 per cent of the world's fresh water in the Great Lakes Basin "in a heartbeat," said Keegan. "Let's take a look at what we're doing. Let's slow down." Ontario Power Generation operates nuclear plants at Pickering and Darlington. It also owns the Bruce facilities, where it leases its plant to a consortium and continues to operate waste-management facilities for storage of low- and medium-level nuclear waste. It is awaiting approval for storage of high-level waste at Bruce. Legal Notice:- Copyright 1996-2002. Toronto Star Newspapers ***************************************************************** 42 Cleanup plan for Shootraring Canyon Unranium Project FR Doc 02-32243 [Federal Register: December 23, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 246)] [Notices] [Page 78262-78263] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23de02-101] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 40-8698] Notice of Amendment Request and Consideration of Proposed Reclamation Plan for the Shootaring Canyon Uranium Project, Ticaboo, Utah, and Opportunity to Provide Comments and to Request a Hearing I. Introduction The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received, by letter dated October 24, 2002, a request from Plateau Resources Limited (PRL) to (1) amend Source Materials License SUA-1371 for the Shootaring Canyon Uranium Project to change its status from ``operational'' to ``reclamation;'' and (2) review and approve PRL's proposed reclamation plan for this facility. The uranium mill at Shootaring Canyon operated for only three months in 1982, generating a small amount of mill tailings (the byproduct material wastes produced by extraction of uranium from ore). The mill has been on standby status since that time and PRL has decided to permanently cease operational activities at Shootaring Canyon and initiate decommissioning and reclamation of the mill site. Consistent with this decision, PRL has [[Page 78263]] submitted a tailings reclamation and decommissioning plan for the Shootaring Canyon Uranium Project. II. Opportunity To Provide Comments The NRC is providing notice to individuals in the vicinity of the facility that the NRC is in receipt of this request, and will accept comments concerning this action within 30 days of the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The comments may be provided to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Written comments may also be delivered to Room T-6 D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, from 7:30 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. III. Opportunity to Request a Hearing The NRC hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding on an application for an amendment of a license falling within the scope of subpart L, ``Informal Hearing Procedures for Adjudications in Materials and Operator Licensing Proceedings'' of NRC's rules and practice for domestic licensing proceedings in 10 CFR part 2. Whether or not a person has or intends to provide comments as set out in section II above, pursuant to Sec. 2.1205(a), any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding may file a request for a hearing in accordance with Sec. 2.1205(d). A request for a hearing must be filed within 30 days of the publication of this Federal Register notice. The request for a hearing must be filed with the Office of the Secretary, either: (1) By delivery to the Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff of the Office of the Secretary of the Commission at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852; or (2) By mail or telegram addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Because of continuing disruptions in the delivery of mail to United States government offices, it is requested that requests for hearing also be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-1101, or by e-mail to hearingdocket@nrc.gov. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.1205(f), each request for a hearing must also be served, by delivering it personally or by mail, to: (1) The applicant, Plateau Resources Limited, 877 North 8th West, Riverton, Wyoming 82501, Attention: Fred Craft; and (2) The NRC staff, by delivery to the General Counsel, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, or by mail addressed to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Because of continuing disruptions in the delivery of mail to United States government offices, it is requested that requests for hearing also be transmitted to the Office of the General Counsel, either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725, or by email to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR part 2 of the NRC's regulations, a request for a hearing filed by a person other than an applicant must describe in detail: (1) The interest of the requestor; (2) How that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding, including the reasons why the requestor should be permitted a hearing, with particular reference to the factors set out in Sec. 2.1205(h); (3) The requestor's areas of concern about the licensing activity that is the subject matter of the proceeding; and (4) The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is timely in accordance with Sec. 2.1205(d). IV. Further Information The application for the license amendment and proposed decommissioning and reclamation plan are available for inspection at NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (ADAMS Accession Number ML023090073). Documents may also be examined and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Any questions with respect to this action should be referred to Rick Weller, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T8-A33, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Telephone: (301) 415-7287, Fax: (301) 415- 5390. Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of December, 2002. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Daniel M. Gillen, Chief, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 02-32243 Filed 12-20-02; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 43 Yucca Mountain Update, Dec 23, 2002 [Yucca Mountain Update -- A Publication of the State of Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency] Volume 1 Issue 2 - December 23, 2002 http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste IN THIS ISSUE... - Nevada Proposes Comprehensive, Independent Testing Program for Casks Designed to Deliver Nuclear Waste to Yucca Mountain - Laboratory Experiments: Metal Alloy Nuclear Waste Containers Will Dissolve Nevada Proposes Comprehensive, Independent Testing Program for Casks Designed to Deliver Nuclear Waste to Yucca Mountain Citing serious credibility problems associated with past federal government-sponsored tests of casks being developed to deliver high-level nuclear waste to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository, the State of Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency recently asked U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Richard Meserve to consider Nevada’s proposal on how to carry out a series of independent tests to oversee and verify the government’s previous findings. [A current-generation truck transportation cask.] In a letter to Meserve, agency Executive Director Bob Loux said the state believes that “comprehensive full-scale testing would not only demonstrate compliance with NRC performance standards, it would improve the overall safety of the cask and vehicle system and generally enhance confidence in both qualitative and probabilistic risk and analysis techniques.” Loux also wrote that the tests could increase public and state and local government acceptance of the shipments, and could reduce adverse social and economic impacts caused by current public perceptions of the risks of transporting the nation’s high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. [A future-generation rail transportation cask. ] Nevada is proposing a four-pronged approach to the full-scale certification testing: meaningful stakeholder participation in development of testing protocols and selection of test facilities and personnel; full-scale physical testing, including sequential drops of casks, fire, puncture, and immersion, prior to NRC certification; additional computer simulations to determine performance in extra-regulatory accidents and to determine failure thresholds; and, reevaluation of previous risk study findings and, if appropriate, revisions of NRC cask performance standards. Loux said Nevada also considers destructive testing of a randomly selected production cask to be a highly desirable way of ascertaining actual failure thresholds. Nevada in 1999 requested a comprehensive assessment of the affects of three types of terrorist attacks and sabotage on waste casks: attacks against transportation infrastructure used by nuclear waste shipments, attacks involving the capture of a nuclear waste shipment and use of high-energy explosives against the cask, and direct attacks on a cask using anti-tank missiles. As part of that request, Nevada also recommended that the NRC consider the need for physical testing on full-scale or scale models of casks to evaluate weapons capabilities, cask vulnerability to attack with high-energy explosive and the response of spent nuclear fuel to such attacks. However, Loux said the NRC has yet to take any action on Nevada’s recommendation, “despite the added urgency brought about by the events of Sept. 11 and their implications for potential terrorism against spent fuel and/or high-level waste shipments.” Loux added that during the preliminary phase of the NRC’s Package Performance Study, conducted in 1999 and 2000, the NRC repeatedly acknowledged the importance of establishing stakeholder confidence in the PPS study process and its findings. However, the NRC has yet to release the draft PPS testing protocol for public review and comments, as it promised in summer 2002, nor has the NRC rescheduled the promised PPS public meetings in Nevada, originally planned for August and September, 2002. “The process to date does not inspire confidence, nor does it come close to meeting NRC-stated commitments to public and stakeholder involvement in developing and review of testing protocols,” Loux said. Laboratory Experiments: Metal Alloy Nuclear Waste Containers Will Dissolve Scientists working for the State of Nevada recently told the National Academy of Sciences’ Board of Radioactive Waste Management that metal alloy containers designed to hold high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain will in time dissolve under certain conditions. Dr. Roger Staehle and Dr. Don Shettel conducted the experiments at Catholic University using conditions simulating those anticipated at Yucca Mountain. They told the board that given the natural conditions found at Yucca Mountain – including moisture and heat – manmade metal alloy containers cannot safely hold high-level nuclear waste for the required regulatory period, but in time will dissolve. “These findings reinforce our belief that the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have long used fuzzy science to prop up their plans to dump the nation’s nuclear waste in Nevada,” said Loux. “Once again, the scientific facts are proving the fallacy of DOE’s assertion that Yucca Mountain is safe for the long-term storage of nuclear waste.” [A schematic showing a storage container for high-level nuclear waste. (Department of Energy graphic)] A critical element of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository is an engineered barrier system incorporating nuclear waste canisters composed of C-22 Hastelloy and a drip shield made of titanium-7 metal. The drip shield is designed to divert any water seepage and prevent it from reaching the waste canisters. Dr. Staehle and Dr. Shettel have been conducting laboratory experiments to assess the stability of the two key barrier metals, C-22 and Ti-7, under anticipated repository conditions. These conditions include rock dust and precipitates covering the drip shield and hot canisters; fracture and rock-pore water dripping and flowing; microbial/fungal reactions; and man-made intrusive materials. Using simulated Yucca Mountain pore water, Dr. Staehle’s and Dr. Shettel’s experiments strongly suggest that heating in the repository will produce a powerful acid vapor called aqua regia, which is so potent it even dissolves gold. As this caustic vapor condenses and evaporates, concentrated acid and solid precipitates form. The solid precipitates in turn attract water vapor from the air and form additional very strong acids. Under these conditions, at temperatures ranging from 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit) to 145 C (293 F), the engineered-barrier metals C-22 and Ti-7 dissolve. The scientists’ findings just add to the list of problems with C-22 and Ti-7. Previously, laboratory results showed that lead, mercury, fluorine, and possibly other trace elements in the water and rock of Yucca Mountain would hinder the ability of C-22 and Ti-7 to contain the nuclear wastes for the required period of time. Outrage of the Week Yucca Mountain project spokesman Alan Benson, responding recently to finds of State of Nevada researchers that the canisters DOE is designing to hold spent fuel and high level radioactive waste in a Yucca Mountain repository are subject to severe and rapid corrosion, was quoted as saying that "no decision has been made about what type of alloy to use for the casks." Such an admission is not only remarkable, but it is also reflective of the disingenuous and misleading information DOE used to convince Congress last summer that Yucca Mountain should be approved as a repository location. Because DOE has been forced to acknowledge that the geology at Yucca Mountain is so porous it can't, by itself, keep deadly radioactive waste from reaching the accessible environment, DOE proposes to use exotic waste disposal containers that will have to be able to withstand corrosion - and every other form of natural process and event - for 10,000 years or more. To do this, DOE settled on an unproven metal alloy known as C-22 for the waste canisters, and boldly touted the material's durability. The problem is, DOE never did the studies to determine if the metal would, in fact, perform as advertised. When Nevada scientists conducted the research, it became apparent very rapidly that C-22 (as well as the titanium proposed to be used for drip shields over each of the waste containers) would corrode quickly when exposed to water with the chemical make up of that found underground at Yucca Mountain. In light of this finding, DOE's spin doctors are now saying that the State's findings are not important because DOE hasn't decided what metal the waste disposal packages will be made from. Well, if alloys as highly touted as C-22 and as durable used as titanium won't do the job, it's hard to imagine any metal that is going to last 10,000 years. More disturbing, Benson's admission means that DOE's entire basis for using Yucca Mountain suitable as a repository is negated. The only way DOE could assert that waste disposed of at Yucca Mountain would remain isolated from the environment was to create the myth of 10,000 year waste containers. Admitting that DOE hasn't a clue about how to make the containers last that long is paramount to admitting the entire Yucca Mountain program is a scam. We welcome comments and story ideas for this newsletter. For media information, please contact Tom Bradley, Brown & Partners, at (702) 967-2222 or via e-mail at tbradley@brown-partners.com. For a text-only version of this newsletter, please contact tbradley@brown-partners.com To subscribe to or unsubscribe from this newsletter, please e-mail nwpo@nuc.state.nv.us. Do not reply to this e-mail. ***************************************************************** 44 Las Vegas Protest March Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 21:59:22 -0600 (CST) The following is a post that I would like to have listed on the Znet Activism Watch page (and anywhere else, for that matter): Anti-War Protest March on the Las Vegas Strip At noon on January 18th, 2003, the Coalition To Prevent the Erosion of Human Rights is organizing a mass protest/march on Las Vegas Boulevard. We'll meet in the large sidewalk area in front of the Bellagio fountain and then march the circuit of the Strip for an hour. Other activities will follow. Some of the Coalition participants are: the Progressive Leadership alliance of Nevada, National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, UNLV Peace Coalition, Nation of Islam - Mosque 75 - Las Vegas, and the Pacee Bene Nonviolence Service. Voicing dissent in this town is difficult but becoming easier with increased activism. We can use all the help we can get! Please contact myself, James Tate, Jr. at (702) 382-5344 or Liz Moore at (702) 791-1965. Thanks for your help and happy holidays! Yours truly, in peace and solidarity James Tesmer __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ***************************************************************** 45 IAEA's inspectors are interviewing Iraqi scientists _EMAIL_ IRAQ-IAEA VIENNA, DEC 23 (AP) Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, searching for banned atomic weapons in Iraq, have begun interviewing Iraqi nuclear scientists, the agency's spokesman said. ``We are now in a phase where those interviews are taking place, but we are not revealing when or how many or with whom,'' said Mark Gwozdecki, the chief spokesman for the United Nations' nuclear watchdog. The IAEA's inspectors are part of a team of UN inspectors trying to determine whether Iraq stores or produces banned atomic, chemical or biological weapons. Gwozdecki made clear that the interviews with scientists went far beyond the ``questioning of people as a matter of routine'' by the foreign inspectors in the initial phase of their search in Iraq. He said the focus has been ``on building an understanding'' in Iraq for the agency's inspectors to learn about the whereabouts of scientists, ``comparing it to our database from the 1990s (and) getting updates from the Iraqis on new individuals.'' ``Now that we are refining that understanding, we are able to do these one-on-one interviews in a more strategic way,'' rather than interviewing lots of people who may or may not have specific information the inspectors are looking for, Gwozdecki said. ``We are now at a point where we can go into a more probing, investigative phase,'' he said, indicating inspectors were now able to ask knowledgeable scientists specific questions about Iraq's nuclear programme. ©Hathway Investments Private Limited 2002, Our Technology Partner : ***************************************************************** 46 US, UK lies exposed: Iraq * * 12/23/2002* 10:45:04 AM Baghdad, Dec 23 - A top advisor to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said Sunday that, after nearly a month of arms inspections, US and British "lies" about alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction "have been uncovered." General Amer al-Saadi was speaking to journalists in Baghdad, and referring to recent reports by the British and US governments. "After 24 days of inspections covering practically all the sites named in those reports and after the submission of our declaration of December 7, the lies and baseless allegations have been uncovered," Saadi said. In resolution 1441 of November 8, the UN security council demanded that Iraq present "a currently accurate, full and complete declaration of all aspects of its programs to develop chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and other delivery systems." Saadi said Washington and London had convinced "UNMOVIC (the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission), the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency) and the whole world to believe they have ironclad evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and promised to provide the evidence." He referred to a dossier published several weeks ago by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and one by the US central intelligence agency. He said the Blair report was "long on allegations and short on evidence ... the report was a hodge podge of half-truths, naive short-sighted allegations and lies. The CIA report was much the same." "The true part of the half-truths appear in detail in our declaration" of December 7, said Saadi, who is a science advisor to Saddam. Saadi added that Iraq had no more documentation that it can provide support its claims that it has no weapons of mass destruction, but was ready to cooperate in any reasonable way on clearing up doubts. m/k *Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Webmaster@IRIBNEWS.COM * ***************************************************************** 47 DOE, State of Washington Reach Agreement on Management of Waste at Hanford Site Hanford Press Release 2002 Privacy &Security Notice [DOE NEWS] Release date: December 16, 2002 For more information contact: Colleen Clark, (509) 373-5985 Tom Welch, (202) 586-5806 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Officials of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the State of Washington have reached agreement on a plan for discussing new requirements for the retrieval and characterization of certain waste that is suspected of being mixed waste and for the appropriate management of waste determined to be mixed waste. This will facilitate the expedited cleanup of the Hanford Site. During their December 13, 2002 meeting officials also discussed shipments of small quantities of transuranic (TRU) waste from two sites in California and Ohio to the Hanford Site for temporary storage until the waste is sent to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, near Carlsbad New Mexico, for disposal. "DOE appreciates the State of Washington's decision not to challenge DOE's planned shipments of TRU waste from the two sites in Ohio and California," Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Jessie Roberson said. "As DOE has stated previously, these shipments, and the resulting temporary storage at Hanford, will comply fully with all applicable laws and regulations. In addition, I appreciate all members of Washington's congressional delegation, especially Hanford Congressman Doc Hastings, for their support in helping us reach this agreement. DOE, the State, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) share an interest in establishing appropriate requirements for the management of mixed waste at Hanford." The parties agreed that their negotiations would work towards the inclusion of appropriate new milestones and modification of existing milestones in the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA). Discussions would be completed by March 1, 2003 and would be incorporated in the form of a tentative agreement and proposed TPA change package. Public review and appropriate approvals of agreed upon TPA changes would be completed by April 30, 2003. Governor Locke Letter, Documenting Agreements Reached Between the Department of Energy and the State of Washington RL 02-263 [Hanford Home Page] [Press Index] ***************************************************************** 48 NNSA Implements Reorganization FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 18, 2002 Download the Official Press Release (Adobe Acrobat PDF) New operation to take effect December 20 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) moves Friday to a new organizational structure that eliminates a layer of management and sets the agency on a course to achieve a 20 percent reduction in federal personnel by the end of Fiscal Year 2004 (FY ’04). NNSA Acting Administrator Linton Brooks said today that the reorganization follows the principles of the President’s Management Agenda, which strives to improve government through performance and results.  “In keeping with President Bush's vision, we are streamlining operations and oversight while clarifying roles and responsibilities. The new, more responsive organization will improve federal management of our nuclear weapons complex,” he said. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham applauded the NNSA action, which, he noted, “implements the President’s desire to make government more efficient and responsive and to focus on clear lines of accountability.” While the entire organizational structure is changing, the NNSA field organization will see the most dramatic change.  Currently, the site offices that oversee NNSA’s contractor operations report to headquarters through three operations offices in Oakland, Calif. , Las Vegas, Nev., and Albuquerque, N.M. Beginning Friday, all site offices will report directly to the NNSA administrator through the principal deputy.  The operations office system will be eliminated. An NNSA Service Center, providing procurement, human resources and other support services to the site offices, will be established using the expertise of the former operations offices.  The NNSA Service Center will be located in Albuquerque.  Consolidation of personnel will be completed by the end of FY ’04, after which the Oakland office will close and the Nevada office will be reduced in size and concentrate on management of the Nevada Test Site. Overall, approximately 20 percent will be trimmed from NNSA’s federal workforce at headquarters and in the field by the end of FY ’04, with headquarters taking a 30 percent cut. The reduction will be accomplished through managed attrition. Security forces and the Navy Nuclear Propulsion program will not be affected by the staff reductions. “We have worked hard this year to make sure our reorganization is done right.  We will manage the reductions in a way that is fair to our outstanding people, while ensuring that the NNSA of the future will have a world-class business environment that eliminates duplication and micromanagement and provides more effective federal oversight,” Brooks said. NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency that carries out the national security responsibilities of the Department of Energy. It maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, promotes international nuclear non-proliferation, and provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion. Media Contacts: Bryan Wilkes (202) 586-7371 Release No. NA-02-28 ***************************************************************** 49 DOE Issues Annual Environmental Report For Portsmouth Plant NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS: Walter Perry, DOE, (865) 576-0885 Sandy Childers, Bechtel Jacobs, (740-897-2336 December 11, 2002 PIKETON, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Energy has issued the latest Annual Site Environmental Report for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The Report includes the results from on-site and off-site environmental monitoring of air, water, and other pathways; describes actions to comply with environmental regulations; and discusses the overall environmental impacts of Department of Energy (DOE) activities on the area surrounding the 3,714-acre Federal reservation. “The results from the monitoring conducted around the plant show that our activities had minimal environmental impacts inside or outside the facility boundaries,” said Russ Vranicar, Acting Portsmouth Site Manager for DOE. Some highlights from the 2001 Report include: · Radiation exposures are well below Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. The maximum radiological dose a member of the public could receive from radiation released from the Portsmouth plant in 2001 was 2.0 mrem, well below the 10 mrem per year limit established by U.S. EPA. This is based on monitoring from airborne radionuclides, radionuclides released to the Scioto River, the depleted uranium cylinder storage yards, and off-site sampling locations. As a comparison, a member of the public receives approximately 300 mrem per year from natural sources of radiation and 2.5 mrem from a one-way cross-country airplane flight. · Environmental laws were followed. The site continues an excellent record of compliance with state and federal environmental regulations and had only two exceptions in 2001. The violations were a Notice of Violation (NOV) from an inspection completed by Ohio and U.S. EPAs on worker refresher training. The NOV was abated because of DOE’s quick response. A second NOV was issued by Ohio EPA pertaining to deviations to design specifications for construction of a landfill barrier wall without prior approval. DOE responded to Ohio EPA’s concerns and worked closely with the agency to resolve issues pertaining to this complex construction project. Overall compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit was 99.8 percent for the year. · Continued progress on remediation efforts. Remediation activities took place at several units in 2001. Construction of a landfill barrier wall to prevent further migration of groundwater and installation of 11 additional groundwater extraction wells to treat greater volumes of groundwater were begun in 2001. Removal of two units – a neutralization pit and former lime house – was completed. There were no significant changes in concentrations of contaminants or the lateral extent of groundwater plume boundaries in 2001. · Significantly reduced total waste inventory. Approximately 7.8 million pounds of waste from the Portsmouth site were recycled, treated or disposed in 2001. The majority of this waste was shipped to a commercial disposal facility in Utah. The Annual Site Environmental Report is prepared for distribution to the public, news media, and local, state and Federal agencies. The Report is published in two volumes – a summary document and a separate detailed data report. Both are available upon request at the Department’s Portsmouth Environmental Information Center by calling (740) 289-3317 or you may view the Report online at . -DOE- R-02-044 ***************************************************************** 50 Plant brought jobs, then questions [DesMoinesRegister.com] By Register Staff Writer 12/23/2002 Middletown, Ia. - James Wahl left for Middletown with hope for the future. It was 1941, and Wahl, an electrician in Logan, had heard that the promise of a better life was being built in the cornfields of southeast Iowa - a huge bomb factory that would supply America's armed forces should they be drawn into the wars in Europe and Asia. More important, perhaps, were the jobs that such a plant would generate - jobs that over the decades would lure people like Wahl, May Bernice Findley, Vaughn Moore, Fred and Lela Miller, and several thousand others to the lines where nuclear and conventional weapons were assembled. They so desperately needed the jobs that they learned to live with the constant fear of accidental explosions, the odd black dust that constantly coated the town, the bone-jarring concussions from test firing and the litany of mysterious ailments - the bloody coughs and migraine headaches. "They need the money," says Moore, who worked at the fac- tory from 1968 to 1974. "It's that simple." **** The Army chose 19,000 acres of farmland south of sleepy Middletown and just west of Burlington for the $25 million Iowa Ordnance Plant - far from the coasts and insulated from enemy invasion. Des Moines County leaders were willing to move the living and the dead to make way for the facility - anything to lift their corner of the world out of the Depression. They condemned land awash with century farms and churches, orchards and cemeteries. In all, 189 farms were bought so the Army could build nearly 500 buildings connected by a web of roads and rail lines. The 100-year-old Union Township cemetery and unmarked graves of early Iowa settlers, county leaders decided after much debate, could stay on the property. "Burlington is going to undergo a change," the Rev. W.T. Smith wrote at the time in the First Methodist Church newsletter, "and will not be the same city from here on." For James Wahl and many others, the factory was a blessing. At 33, Wahl quit his job with the Rural Electric Administration and moved east, promising to send for wife Frances and infant daughter Vera when he had suitable housing. What he found was something akin to a gold-rush town. Potential workers poured in from Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. More than 75 people a day showed up at the plant's makeshift office in the Odd Fellows Hall to apply. Wahl secured a position as an electrician. The boom burned bright, but fast. Safety problems plagued the factory: Fires and explosions killed 40 people in the first few years. In 1945, at the end of the war, the plant closed. But in 1947, the Atomic Energy Commission, predecessor of today's Department of Energy, reopened the plant with a secret project: making nuclear bombs. Assembly of conventional weapons resumed, too. Workers on conventional munitions lines, run by the Army, wore blue badges. Those who worked on the nuclear assembly line, Line 1, worked under the direction of the Atomic Energy Commission and carried higher security clearance, green badges and bragging rights - their jobs were "top secret." Wahl was issued a green badge, letting him go nearly anywhere, including Line 1 - a massive collection of buildings, rail lines, roads and underground storage facilities. Employment swelled like a tick in the war years. During the Vietnam War, the number of workers jumped from 2,000 to more than 7,600. Wahl and others were assigned to drive green Army buses to towns in Iowa and Missouri and, using a loudspeaker on the roof, call out for men. Vaughn Moore stepped aboard one of the buses in April 1968. "They were begging for people," he remembers. His one condition: Put me on security, he told them. Working with explosives is too dangerous. "When a line blew and they lined up for a head count, people were shaking so bad they couldn't hold their cigarettes," he would say later. Still, the health insurance and call to patriotism drew Moore away from his job as assistant manager at the Big Bear Grocery in Ottumwa. He and his wife moved to a tidy little mobile home park within sight of the plant's fences. He started working on the Army side - blue badge - but after a background check was given access to the entire plant - green badge. The Army-controlled areas were dirty and the buildings either too hot or too cold, depending on the weather, he recalls. "Line 1 was clean, humidity controlled," Moore says. "It was two different worlds, believe me." A pleasant place, with some drawbacks Many people who grew up around the plant came away with fond memories. James Wahl's daughter Vera felt special when she was issued a pass with her father's badge number that allowed her to use the plant's swimming pool. Other folks slyly recall slipping over a chain-link fence after dark to make out in the cornfields that buffered the assembly-line buildings from the fence. But they also had to get used to strange inconveniences, like the light coat of greasy black residue that perpetually covered Middletown. A quick swipe of a lawn chair or a car door handle with a bare hand usually removed it, Karen Harshbarger, Wahl's other daughter, recalls. "We didn't know snow was supposed to be white," remembers Vona Vernoy, Vaughn Moore's daughter. "It was always brown." They fished in the plant"s lake adjacent to the test-firing fields. Boy Scout troops camped on its shores. Hunters occasionally were given permission to thin out the deer on the property. Vona and her friends would collect dust falling from the above-ground steam pipes that snaked through the plant and past the mobile home park where they lived. They blew it in each other's faces and smeared it on their cheeks, like war paint. On lazy days, they would watch smoke rings from the test firings float through the air, guessing which one would fall back to earth first. "Before long you'd have a haze settle down," she says. "We'd play blindman's bluff in the fog." A higher wage, a need for secrecy Bernice Findley went to work at the factory during the Vietnam boom years. Her two sons grown, Bernice was remarried and raising four daughters. In 1965, a plant job meant $2,777 a year more than she had been making while working as a grill cook, waitress and hotel maid. Now she could make payments on her house in Burlington. Her girls could have more to eat than garden vegetables and "oyster stew," the heady name she gave her concoction of canned oysters and milk. She was given badge No. 4288 and a job as a component operator on the Army's Line 6. Every morning at the plant, she changed into plant-issued underwear and flameproof-treated chambray coveralls. Then she took her place along the assembly lines, where she painted detonators. At times, she told her family, she was asked to fill in on Line 1. The rules at the Army plant were strict, she said. Something as negligible as a stone stuck in a shoe could cause a spark against the floor and set off an explosion. But if she feared this or anything else that went on there, her son, Bobby Richardson, never heard her speak of it, although by this time he was in his 20s and traveling the country. All his mom knew, he says, "was that she had four gals to feed at home and a house to pay for." Once in the late "70s when his new wife, Debby, was getting to know her mother-in-law, she tried to strike up a conversation about work at the plant. "You know how the Army is," was the reply. "That stuff is classified. We're not supposed to talk about it." Work is moved, and an era ends In 1973, the Atomic Energy Commission officials did talk about it, publicly, acknowledging that the plant had been making high-explosive components for nuclear weapons and assembling them. They said they were moving the work to Amarillo, Texas. Vera Anderson, James Wahl's daughter, remembers watching her friends leave town, following the nuclear-arms jobs to Texas and New Mexico. It was the end of an era for the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. The Department of Defense continues to produce conventional ammunition there, but employment levels are a shadow of what they once were. Large sections of the facility sit unused, although administrators are trying to lure private, nonweapons manufacturers to set up shop. Vaughn Moore was laid off in 1974. Bernice Findley retired in 1979. James Wahl died in 1980. In 1988, the factory's legacy began to bubble to the surface. Toxic remains, health questions A "horror story." That's how an environmental study described the plant's improper disposal of hazardous wastes. Through the 1980s, one problem after another surfaced. Leaky drums turned up. Groundwater, streams and soil were found to contain DDT, TNT, lead and barium. In 1989, the plant was named to the federal Superfund list of worst toxic-waste sites. The cleanup is expected to take until 2014 and cost $100 million. But even as area residents learned of the damage to the environment, they didn't seem to connect the plant to the damage to their bodies. Former plant workers show a pattern of developing lung and some other cancers at a rate several times higher than those found in the rest of the state, according to a report by the State Health Registry of Iowa. The study, which covered the years 1969 through 1999, also showed that cancers of the liver, mouth and eye areas occurred at a higher rate among some residents of Middletown and West Burlington than they did in the rest of the state. "I guess we were naive about living here," says Vera Anderson. "We just believed everything they told us." In 1993, Congress ordered the Department of Energy to screen former employees of nearly 400 weapons and power plants for health problems. The Middletown factory was not on the list. Letter writer looks to Washington The letter that wrote southeast Iowa back into the country"s nuclear history arrived in Washington, D.C., in December 1997. Tom Vinson fished the envelope out of the mail that arrived at Sen. Tom Harkin"s office. His job was to read letters and draft responses. Vinson didn"t know how to answer this one. Robert Anderson wrote that he was a retired shift commander for the security guards who worked with radioactive materials during the "60s and "70s at an Atomic Energy Commission weapons plant in Middletown. He had read about how the government was helping ailing former workers of other weapons plants. Anderson and three other security guards had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer of the lymphatic system. "I observed the disposal of retired weapons," he wrote. "They were frozen, cracked apart, core removed and the explosives burned in an open field. If any radioactive material leaked from the core into the explosives, they were certainly placed into the atmosphere by burning. I know of three dairy herds within five miles of the burning." Vinson, an Iowa native, had never heard of a nuclear-weapons plant in the state. He took the letter to Peter Tyler, who at the time was Harkin"s military expert. He, too, was baffled. Tyler called the Department of Energy and was told there was no such facility in Iowa. He called a public-interest group that specializes in former nuclear-weapons sites. Never heard of it, group officials told him. Nuclear heritage unknown to many A year later, Tyler was on a tour of the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, which included a promotional video bragging about Middletown's nuclear heritage. He was astonished. "Is this true?" he asked. Well, yes, the tour guide told him. It's no secret. Tyler called the Department of Energy again. "What's the deal here?" he asked. Harkin had sponsored an energy employees compensation program that provided help to workers who had health problems connected to nuclear work. The legislation mentioned nothing about Middletown. It turned out that the factory had been inadvertently left out of Department of Energy reports. Tyler wondered: How do you forget about a major nuclear-weapons plant? A demand to lift veil of secrecy In 1999, Harkin toured the plant. The guide pointed out weathered buildings where some of the country's first nuclear bombs had been made. But when Harkin asked an Army official for confirmation, the official replied that he could neither confirm nor deny the information. "Here they were being told by a senator that they could talk about it," Tyler says. Yet the Army official - and the entire Department of Defense - remained silent. Harkin did not. He was instrumental in getting Middletown's nuclear workers included in the compensation bill. He and U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell of Iowa demanded that the military lift the veil of secrecy. "Many former employees feel that they cannot speak about their work at IAAP because of the oath of secrecy," Harkin said at the time. "This policy stands as a roadblock to uncovering the true extent of exposure to the community and former employees." Illnesses get a second look Army officials stood in Burlington in the 1950s and promised there was no danger from radiation at the bomb factory, residents recall. Department of Energy officials declared the plant clean and safe after moving nuclear production out of Middletown. Residents and workers trusted them. "It had never been an issue," Bobby Richardson says. Suddenly, everything from cancer to persistent coughs to recurring cases of flu triggered fear and doubt in people who had worked at, lived near or had other contact with the plant. "The way cancer is everywhere, who's to say the plant is the cause of it?" Vera Anderson says. "Then again, maybe it is." Karen Harshbarger, Anderson's sister, had lived in Middletown and worked as a nurse at the plant. She thought of the residue that had always blanketed the town. She had touched it with her bare hands, "just like you'd brush the dust off of everything else," she says. "We picked berries and ate the berries that might have had residue on them," Anderson says. The Army had allowed people to farm land on the plant property that acted as a buffer zone. A youth group from a local church had picked crops that the farmers missed and sold it to raise money. Vaughn Moore worries about what he might have brought home to his family on his dinner bucket and his clothing. Unlike other workers who left their coveralls at the plant to be laundered, security guards wore uniforms home so they could have them dry cleaned. His daughter Vona often greeted him at the door with a hug. "They did not tell you that this was going to shorten your life, that it was going to eat off your skin, that you were going to pass it on to your wife and kids," he says. Some suspected, but they didn"t talk about it. They had signed agreements to keep their mouths shut, and they were willing to take those secrets to the grave. Their angry and grief-stricken children and spouses had made no such promise. "We weren't the ones the government told we couldn't say anything," Karen Harshbarger says. "We can go and question." To find out the truth, they would have to put their faith in the government they felt had betrayed them, a government that clings to its secrets. Copyright © 2002, The Des Moines Register. ***************************************************************** 51 Underground opportunity: The Quecreek accident restored interest in subterranean robotics at CMU Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Health, Science and Environment Monday, December 23, 2002 By Byron Spice, Post-Gazette Science Editor Four months ago, it began as a simple notion: that robotic technology could be used to map abandoned mines, reducing the risk of a repeat of July's Quecreek Mine inundation. Carnegie Mellon University students and researchers have since built a pair of mine-mapping robots and prowled through several mines, including an unprecedented venture into a long-abandoned, water-and-muck-filled coal mine in Burgettstown. But now, William "Red" Whittaker, the Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor who launched the initiative, suspects that he and his colleagues may be on to something bigger, a whole new field he calls "subterranean robotics." William "Red" Whittaker and the Groundhog. (Martha Rial, Post-Gazette) "What we're discovering," Whittaker said, "is millions of miles of underground spaces"-- not just mines, but sewers, aqueducts and caves. And for every underground space, there seems to be somebody who wants it explored or monitored in ways particularly suited to robots. He has fielded a variety of inquiries. Kentucky mining officials are interested in using robots to mine layers of high-value coal that are too deep to strip mine and, at less than 2 feet, too thin to economically deep mine. U.S. Energy Department officials would like robots to monitor the Yucca Mountain caverns in Nevada that will be used as a nuclear waste repository. Some military officials reportedly are intrigued with the idea of a robot that could map sewers in enemy-occupied cities, perhaps identifying underground routes that commandoes could use for infiltration. "There's been a surprising demand for 'fish,' " Whittaker said, referring to swimming robots. The Carnegie Mellon team even has a paying job. Early next year, they will send a robot called Ferret to Kansas City, Kansas, where it will be used to study the collapse of a limestone mine ceiling that has forced the closure of a busy residential street overhead. Later, the same robot will be used to map Kansas salt caverns that are used to store natural gas, looking for irregularities that would allow gas to escape. "We map where the sun don't shine," was the motto of Whittaker's Mobile Robot Development class, which used mine mapping as its project this fall. Working in concert with that class is a Carnegie Mellon business entrepreneurial class led by Tom Emerson. That group already has sketched out a business plan for a company supplying subterranean mapping services. The company, Black Rabbit, is to be launched this spring, with annual revenues of $12.5 million projected by 2008, said Idan Mor, one of the students. Taking another look Though Whittaker has been a pioneer in using mobile robots in unusual environments -- robots for examining and cleaning up the Three Mile Island reactor building, robots to explore active volcanoes, robots to look for meteorites in Antarctica -- he hadn't explored underground applications since a brief period in the mid-1980s. But when the Quecreek Mine accident was blamed on faulty, outdated maps for an adjoining, abandoned mine, Whittaker began to think about robots and mines anew. New advances in automated, three-dimensional mapping, autonomous navigation and power supplies convinced him that a robot might both survive in an abandoned mine and be able to draw reliable maps. His fall robotics class, together with an automated mapping course led by Sebastian Thrun, responded by building two devices: Groundhog, a wheeled robot the size of a golf cart, and Ferret, a machine that could go down a borehole, pop its head into a mine and use lasers to build a map of what it sees. Groundhog also uses a laser rangefinder to build maps, though other devices such as sonars could be used for mapping. They began work on Groundhog by welding together the front ends of two Honda all-terrain vehicles, giving them a chassis with four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. A golf cart motor and transmission were added, resulting in an 800-pound machine they planned to drive into the old Saxman mine, the abandoned mine mistakenly breached by the Quecreek miners. But the unshielded electric motor was an explosive hazard in a mine, so the researchers were sent back to the drawing board. The golf cart drivetrain was swapped for a hydraulic system, powered by an electric motor encased in an explosion-proof box. This version, about twice as heavy as the original, was tested several times in the U.S. Experimental Mine in South Park Township and, in late October, was twice sent into the former Florence Mine at Burgettstown. A satellite link to Charleston, W.Va., allowed mining officials gathered for a mine-mapping conference to follow Groundhog's progress inside the Burgettstown mine and see the 3-D maps it produced. Ferret is much simpler. The long, cylindrical machine is designed to be lowered through a 10-inch diameter borehole, allowing it entry to otherwise inaccessible mines. Ferret has arms to anchor itself to the borehole walls and, at its bottom end, a laser rangefinder for building 3-D maps. The laser has a half-mile range. "There's been overwhelming interest in this," said Aaron Morris, the graduate student who put much of Ferret together, "because it's immediately deployable." Early next year, the Carnegie Mellon team will take Ferret to Kansas City, where the roof of a limestone mine gave way, allowing overlying rock and sediments to fall into the mine. This "dome out" created a large void underneath Holliday Drive, a busy residential road. Though no surface subsidence has occurred yet, the road has been closed until the void can be filled with fly ash concrete, said Bill Shef-chik, a geologist with Burns &McDonnell, an engineering consulting firm in Kansas City. The mine itself is accessible -- the limestone mines under Kansas City are dry and often used as warehouse space -- so contractors have been able to pile up earth and gravel around the area of the "dome out" in preparation for filling it with concrete. But engineers would like to get a look at the void above the mine and that's not so easy, Shefchik said. Video cameras can be placed through a borehole to view the void, but lighting is a problem and the images are poor, he noted. With Ferret, the engineers should be able to build a precise map and obtain an exact measure of how much concrete is needed. Later, Ferret will be used in the salt beds outside of Hutchinson, Kansas. Salt was mined there using a system in which water was pumped into the beds, dissolved the salt and was pumped out as brine. This created large caverns subsequently used to store natural gas. But when gas escaped from one of the caverns a year ago, natural gas geysers, explosions and fires wracked downtown Hutchinson. Shefchik said old, abandoned wells provided a conduit for the escaping gas and efforts are now under way to better understand the salt caverns. "Visually, no one's ever seen them," he said. Sonar tools can provide an approximation of their size and shape, but Ferret may be able to provide detailed, 3-D maps of the caverns and identify sites where leaks might occur. Other uses for subterranean robots abound, Shefchik said. A wheeled rover that could patrol through active limestone mines, abandoned mines and underground warehouses might provide an early warning of dome outs, for instance. Mapping active mines Even if robots aren't used for mining abandoned mines, Mor sees a market for automated mapping of active mines. The machines produce accurate 3-D maps, so running a robot through a mine every few weeks would allow mining companies to calculate exactly what volume of coal has been removed, as well as to automatically produce mining maps. Whittaker said plans for a spring class call for building a robot, Magellan, that would combine aspects of both Groundhog and Ferret. Like Groundhog, Magellan would be a four-wheeled rover that could navigate autonomously through a mine for up to 2 1/2 miles as it builds maps. Like Ferret, it would be small enough to lower into a mine through a borehole and would have balloon-like tires that would be inflated only after it was lowered into the mine. But he also said that those plans may change. Most abandoned mines in Pennsylvania are filled with water and, even when water is pumped out, have floors covered with a thick layer of muck. The Carnegie Mellon team's firsthand experience with the muck at the Burgettstown mine, combined with the interest expressed by some potential users, suggests that the team may want to shift direction and build a swimming robot next, he added. Byron Spice can be reached at bspice@post-gazette.comor 412-263-1578. Copyright ©1997-2002 PG Publishing Co., Inc. 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