***************************************************************** 07/24/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.188 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 French premier begins to roll back green policies 2 Nuke foes fight expansion of Canadian plant - 3 French premier begins to roll back green policies 4 US: Area considered for uranium plant 5 US: Cleanup funding approved - The Senate committee approved $134 6 US: TVA directors approve money for newest, oldest reactors NUCLEAR REACTORS 7 AU: Fresh faultline fear for N-reactor 8 US: Commission finds 5 violations at Richland plant 9 Reactor hits another hurdle 10 US: Coalition wants Davis-Besse closed permanently 11 US: Unit 1 restart moves forward 12 US: TVA OKs restart of its oldest reactor 13 AU: Campaign to stop N-reactor NUCLEAR SAFETY 14 US: NRC Proposes $3,000 Fine Against Virginia Firm for Violation 15 US: Border cargo being scanned for 'dirty bombs' 16 DEFRA, UK: GOVERNMENT ACTS TO REDUCE RADIOACTIVE DISCHARGES 17 Four Jailed for Stealing Radioactive Material in Sichuan 18 US: U.S. military goods could fall into wrong hands NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 19 US: OPPOSE RADIOACTIVE TRANSPORT REGS. by noon 7/28, AND by 7/29 20 New Body Urged to Manage Nuclear Waste 'Legacy' 21 US: Judge in Boise to rule soon on nuclear waste 22 US: Q&A about the nuclear waste case 23 US: Plan to reclassify radioactive waste opposed* 24 US: A new nuclear legacy?* 25 US: Bush signs bill for Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump 26 US: DOE spars with tribes, states over waste storage 27 US: Bush signs bill approving Yucca Mountain dump 28 US: President signs Yucca Mountain resolution into law 29 US: Bush signs off on Yucca 30 US: Bush approves nuclear dump 31 US: Big Rock applauds president's support of Yucca Mountain bill 32 US: Editorial: Whatever happened to dignity? 33 US: State to announce new Yucca offensive 34 US: Do Rural Votes Count More in Utah? 35 US: Yucca Mountain Bill Gets Bush's OK 36 US: Utah: n-waste tax Initiative law unconstitutional? 37 US: Yucky mountain waste plan 38 US: Bush signs bill designating Nevada site as nuclear waste dump 39 UK DEFRA | Environmental Protection 40 US: Nuclear waste transport 41 US: Bush clears way for Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal - 42 US: Nuclear-proof bugs may help environment 43 US: NRC Names Dr. Michael T. Ryan to Advisory Committee on Nuclear 44 US: NRC: NFS project would increase pollutants but pose no impact NUCLEAR WEAPONS 45 Israel Has 400 Atomic And Hydrogen Bombs 46 UK: PM Warns Of Saddam Nuclear Threat 47 Nunn asks Senate to OK arms treaty 48 Ambassador Lists American Nuclear Concerns - US DEPT. OF ENERGY 49 Feds? nuclear cleanup plan criticized 50 DOE plans to open Richland office 51 $2 billion OK'd for Hanford cleanup 52 DOE review fosters hope for FFTF supporters 53 PNNL gets grant for gene research 54 ORNL, Y-12 funding continues forward 55 $21.7M to ORNL for Genomes program 56 DOE Office of Science to Realign Headquarters, Field Structures 57 Energy Department Awards $103 Million for Post-Genomic Research OTHER NUCLEAR 58 *Energy Bill Contradicts Push to Corporate Reform* 59 US Uranium Encrichment Parntership Expands ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 French premier begins to roll back green policies FT.com Monday Jul 22 2002. All times are London time. By Robert Graham in Paris France's new centre-right government headed by prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has begun to roll back environmental policies introduced by the previous leftwing coalition. The measures are mainly designed to appease powerful lobbies among farmers and the hunting community, all of whom form part of an important electoral constituency that helped give the right its overwhelming victory in last month's general election. In some cases the changes are likely to be challenged in the courts and could run up against existing European Union norms. Yesterday the official gazette published new regulations extending the opening and closure of the shooting season with special reference to migratory birds. This has been one of the principal demands of Cpnt, the hunting, shooting, fishing and rural traditions party, whose candidate Jean Saint-Josse scored over 4 per cent in the presidential poll. The Cpnt had originally wanted an even longer open season, extending from July 14 to February 28. But the new season is nevertheless three weeks longer than the period envisaged in a decree fixed by the previous government. This decree had bent over backwards to bridge the gap between belatedly conforming with EU directives - dating back to 1979 - and satisfying the shooting lobby. The latter had resorted to violent demonstrations and had even trashed the office of Dominique Voynet, France's first Green environment minister. "Shooting has been extended by three weeks on the worst of hunting laws passed in 1994 and 1998 - laws declared illegal by the council of state and the European Court of Justice," France Nature, the environmental group, said yesterday. "We now face new guerrilla war in the courts: it's shameful giving into 200,000 enthusiasts of water fowl shooting." With the Greens reduced to three deputies in the new parliament, the Raffarin government appears to feel it has a free hand to roll-back several areas of environmental legislation. Roselyne Bachelot, the new environment minister, has announced the government will drop legislation aimed at cleaning up France's water supplies. The water bill, which went through 17 readings before a text was finalised, failed to complete its course through parliament before dissolution in February. Designed as one of the centrepieces of the Greens in government, it sought to impose fines on farmers polluting water table with nitrates. Under new decentralisation plans to hand more initiatives to the regions farmers will be given incentives to pollute less. The government appears ready to drop previous ideas of taxing industries that pollute - the main means seen by the left to bring down greenhouse gas emissions. Instead the government is listening to proposals from business and industry for a voluntary arrangement to cut emissions. The government is also under pressure to reconsider the previous administration's freeze on the development of an experimental next generation nuclear reactor. FT.com ***************************************************************** 2 Nuke foes fight expansion of Canadian plant - [Search detnews.com] Wednesday, July 24, 2002 The Detroit News. [Image] Daniel Mears / The Detroit News Normand de la Chevrotiere heads an Ontario group which unsuccessfully sued to force an environmental assessment of the Bruce nuclear plant. Concerns about waste extend to Metro area By Tony Manolatos / The Detroit News Daniel Mears / The Detroit News Storage tanks line the Bruce plant, the world's largest nuclear power site. TIVERTON, Ontario -- Sunsets in this part of Canada are considered some of the best. But attention lately has been diverted from the colorful hues on the horizon to a nuclear power plant along the tree-lined shores and sandy beaches of Lake Huron. The potential threat from the Bruce nuclear complex in Tiverton, Ontario, stretches across the clear, blue waters of Lake Huron into Michigan and Metro Detroit. The complex, about 150 miles northeast of Detroit, is the world's largest nuclear power site. It produces and stores more high-level radioactive waste than most nuclear sites. The facility stores about 14,000 tons -- equal to about a third of the nuclear waste that is stored in the United States. Storage space is tight, so plant officials plan to add about 2,000 silos this fall, which would more than double the capacity to store high-level waste to about 35,000 tons. Bruce officials, Canadian nuclear regulators and an international nuclear safety agency insist the 2,300-acre facility is closely monitored and safe, despite existing safety issues. There has never been a radiation-related death from a nuclear power plant in Canada, which first produced nuclear energy in the 1950s. But to nuclear-power foes and residents on both sides of the lake, including Metro Detroiters, the risks increase daily as the waste piles up. They want the expansion efforts shelved pending an outside environmental assessment, something Canadian citizens couldn't get. "This expansion project should be fully and fairly disclosed," said Mark Richardson, an environmental attorney for the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office. "The risk of an accident may be very low, but the consequences of an accident are potentially catastrophic to Metro Detroiters." There are warning signs. Plant and Canadian government officials acknowledge the following: * A fisherman broke into the complex last year. * A Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission inspection two years ago found more than a dozen deficiencies. * The plant's incinerator was replaced last year because it didn't meet Canada's new, tougher environmental guidelines. * Ground water near homes and near Lake Huron test positive for radioactive waste. Despite these issues, an international nuclear safety organization that assessed the complex in May said it's safe. The World Wide Association of Nuclear Operators is a nonprofit agency that tracks the safety and performance of more than 430 nuclear reactors in 30 countries. However, nuclear power plants fund the agency, and its assessments are confidential. "If they weren't safe, they wouldn't be operating," said Ed Huk, deputy director of the association's Atlanta office. Bruce's size a concern Monroe resident and autoworker Mark Farris, 51, can see the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant from his yard. But that facility doesn't concern him as much as the Bruce complex "because Bruce is making room for more waste and the bulk of the waste they generate in Canada is at Bruce." The Bruce complex imports and stores low-level and medium-level waste such as contaminated clothes, mops, filters and other materials from 21 of Canada's 23 nuclear reactors, plant officials said. None of the three operating nuclear power plants in Michigan import waste. "There are some releases to the water and to the air of radioactive material, but that's the same as any nuclear reactor," said Kay Klassen, who oversees waste management at the Bruce complex for Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Releases are monitored. At a distance of about 40 miles, the Fermi 2 Power Plant on Lake Erie is the closest nuclear plant to Detroit, and it does not release any radioactive material into the water, said John Austerberry, a spokesman for DTE Energy, which owns Fermi 2. Security breach The Bruce complex's neighbors in Canada also are worried about the plant taking in more radioactive waste. About 300 homeowners in Inverhuron, which borders the Bruce complex, unsuccessfully sued plant officials. "There's too much we don't know ... environmental and otherwise," said Normand de la Chevrotiere, president of the Inverhuron homeowners group and an insurance risk assessor. The Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination, a Michigan environmental group, started a petition to try to force Bruce officials to conduct an outside assessment of the plant. "If the public lets out a big enough cry, maybe this storage facility will be reconsidered," said board member Kay Cumbow, 53, a respiratory technician in Port Huron. "Our safety and our lakes are at stake." Security at the Bruce complex was increased after Sept. 11, although the airspace above the facility remains open, said plant officials, who declined to discuss specifics. They did, however, admit someone broke into the complex on Sept. 23, 2001. A man whose boat capsized on Lake Huron near the Bruce complex squeezed through a gate there, entered an office building and phoned for help -- all undetected. Steve Cannon, a spokesman at the complex, said the fisherman wouldn't have gotten past security at the reactors. "The reactors are the most secured areas on site." Shut reactors revived Ontario Power Generation runs the waste management facilities at the complex but leases the reactors to Bruce Power. Next summer, Bruce Power intends to restart two reactors shut down four years ago because of technical problems, poor performance and management deficiencies, according to the Sierra Club of Canada, an environmental group. Bruce Power's Cannon acknowledges the issues but said they would be corrected by the time the reactors reopen. There are other issues. A 2000 report of the complex by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission found 15 deficiencies in fire protection, staff training and qualifications, radiation protection programs and other areas. "There were no unacceptable ratings and the 15 issues are not show stoppers, but they have to be corrected," said commission spokesman Jim Leveque. In September, Bruce Power officials are scheduled to appear before the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to provide updates on existing safety issues at the complex, Leveque said. Oversight similar in U.S. In terms of government oversight, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission closely mirrors the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Each oversees, inspects and tests nuclear power plants. Each also issues operating licenses. Air, lake water, fish, crops and milk supplies in surrounding areas also are tested for radioactivity. Although all nuclear plants use uranium, plants in the United States enrich it with chemicals, meaning they use and store less used uranium, or high-level radioactive waste, than their Canadian counterparts, nuclear officials said. Combined, the nuclear power plants in the United States store about 45,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste. Fuel bundles deadly Although the spent fuel in Canada doesn't contain as many chemicals as spent fuel in the United States, it still is among the most toxic of all industrial waste products. An unprotected person standing within a yard of one spent fuel bundle, about the size of a fireplace log, would die within an hour, according to environmentalists and nuclear regulators. There are about 700,000 spent fuel bundles at Bruce. To store spent fuel, nuclear plants use steel-lined pools of water. When the pools are full, waste is moved to dry storage in concrete and steel silos. Stacked on top of each other, the 12-foot silos under construction at Bruce would be taller than Alaska's 20,320-foot Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America. Although people are leery of the waste at Bruce, no one knows the damage it would create if it is released. The world's worst nuclear power accident killed thousands of people. In 1986, a reactor at the Chernobyl Power Plant in the former Soviet Union, now Ukraine, overheated and exploded, releasing clouds of deadly radioactive material into the atmosphere. Ideal site The Bruce complex produces electricity in four nuclear reactors, although nine are on site, including one permanently shut down. No site in the world has as many reactors, said Huk, of the World Wide Association of Nuclear Operators. The site grew in the 1970s and 1980s because the location is ideal for a power plant, Bruce's Cannon said. The area is flat and sturdy, and Lake Huron supplies ample amounts of water needed to run reactors and cool spent fuel. Any potential changes would have to be diplomatic in nature, Richardson said. The outcome would be based on negotiations between the two countries. Any scrutiny comforts de la Chevrotiere, 41, who lives within three miles of the complex. "When I hear a bump in the night, I don't know if I should roll over or run for my life," he said. You can reach Tony Manolatos at (586) 468-0520 or [tmanolatos@detnews.com] ***************************************************************** 3 French premier begins to roll back green policies [http://www.ft.com] By Robert Graham in Paris Published: July 24 2002 5:00 | Last Updated: July 24 2002 5:00 France's new centre-right government headed by prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has begun to roll back environmental policies introduced by the previous leftwing coalition. The measures are mainly designed to appease powerful lobbies among farmers and the hunting community, all of whom form part of an important electoral constituency that helped give the right its overwhelming victory in last month's general election. In some cases the changes are likely to be challenged in the courts and could run up against existing European Union norms. Yesterday the official gazette published new regulations extending the opening and closure of the shooting season with special reference to migratory birds. This has been one of the principal demands of Cpnt, the hunting, shooting, fishing and rural traditions party, whose candidate Jean Saint-Josse scored over 4 per cent in the presidential poll. The Cpnt had originally wanted an even longer open season, extending from July 14 to February 28. But the new season is nevertheless three weeks longer than the period envisaged in a decree fixed by the previous government. This decree had bent over backwards to bridge the gap between belatedly conforming with EU directives - dating back to 1979 - and satisfying the shooting lobby. The latter had resorted to violent demonstrations and had even trashed the office of Dominique Voynet, France's first Green environment minister. "Shooting has been extended by three weeks on the worst of hunting laws passed in 1994 and 1998 - laws declared illegal by the council of state and the European Court of Justice," France Nature, the environmental group, said yesterday. "We now face new guerrilla war in the courts: it's shameful giving into 200,000 enthusiasts of water fowl shooting." With the Greens reduced to three deputies in the new parliament, the Raffarin government appears to feel it has a free hand to roll-back several areas of environmental legislation. Roselyne Bachelot, the new environment minister, has announced the government will drop legislation aimed at cleaning up France's water supplies. The water bill, which went through 17 readings before a text was finalised, failed to complete its course through parliament before dissolution in February. Designed as one of the centrepieces of the Greens in government, it sought to impose fines on farmers polluting water table with nitrates. Under new decentralisation plans to hand more initiatives to the regions farmers will be given incentives to pollute less. The government appears ready to drop previous ideas of taxing industries that pollute - the main means seen by the left to bring down greenhouse gas emissions. Instead the government is listening to proposals from business and industry for a voluntary arrangement to cut emissions. The government is also under pressure to reconsider the previous administration's freeze on the development of an experimental next generation nuclear reactor. FT.com ***************************************************************** 4 Area considered for uranium plant NewsAdvance.com - By Chris Flores / The News &Advance Jul 23, 2002 Central Virginia may be one of three proposed sites for a $1.1 billion uranium enrichment plant that would be the first U.S. enrichment plant built in a half century. The facility, still in the planning phase, would be built by a consortium called Louisiana Energy Services (LES). The only site that has been confirmed so far is near Erwin in Unicoi County in eastern Tennessee, where some people have begun to protest the proposal. The leader of the group, Johnny Lynch, a Unicoi alderman and business owner, said he was told by a member of the county's economic development board that Lynchburg and Wilmington, N.C., are the other two potential sites. Citing "industry experts," the New York Times said in a story Tuesday that Erwin, Lynchburg and Wilmington are the sites the consortium is considering. Uranium enrichment involves taking natural uranium and increasing the amount of uranium-235 - the isotope of uranium that is needed in reactors - until the percentage of uranium-235 rises from the 1 percent in natural uranium to closer to 5 percent. Central Virginia economic development officials have told The News &Advance during the last week that they haven't heard anything about the project. An LES official didn't return calls for comment. LES tried to build a plant in Louisiana in the 1990s, but withdrew after a long, bitter fight with opponents that ended with a Nuclear Regulatory Commission denial of the LES permit on grounds of "environmental justice." LES decided to try again at a different site, but it plans to build this time near an existing licensed nuclear facility. References to Lynchburg as a site are likely pointing to BWX Technologies in Campbell County, which has land by the plant where LES might be able to build. The plant has another Lynchburg connection. Duke Engineering &Services is part of LES, and when Framatome ANP bought the Duke division this year, it inherited Duke's interest in the project. Framatome, the largest nuclear fuel and services company in the world, has U.S. headquarters in Lynchburg. The only enrichment plant in the United States is in Paducah, Ky. It is run by USEC (formerly U.S. Enrichment Corporation), which also is the "executive agent" for deals between the United States and Russia to sell weapons-grade uranium after Russia dilutes it into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. USEC also has a deal with the United States to dilute 50 metric tons of weapons-grade uranium from the American stockpile, and all that work is done at BWXT as a contractor to USEC. USEC is also planning to buildan enrichment facility with better technology than Paducah, and will either build it there or on its closed Portsmouth, Ohio, location. It will compete with the new LES plant. The existing USEC Paducah facility uses gaseous diffusion, where the uranium is converted to gas and sent through a process that separates the heavier uranium. The proposed LES plant would use a newer European technology that uses a centrifuge and a fraction of the electricity used at the USEC plant. The technology is used in Europe by Urenco, the majority owner of LES. The consortium also includes uranium supplier Cameco Corporation of Canada, Westinghouse Electric Company, Fluor Daniel, Exelon and Entergy. LES is scheduled to meet with the NRC on Aug. 6 at a public meeting at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md., to discuss some technical and safety requirements for the gas centrifuge license application the company must file with the NRC. LES is also expected to confirm at that meeting which sites are the finalists in the running for the plant. The potential sites for the new plant all have nuclear facilities. Nuclear Fuel Services is in Erwin and Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas is in Wilmington. [http://www.mediageneral.com] ***************************************************************** 5 Cleanup funding approved - The Senate committee approved $134 million for Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant cleanup, a $31 million increase. The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Staff Report WASHINGTON--The Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee approved a bill Tuesday that includes $134 million for cleanup at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and $10 million for conversion of depleted uranium. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, had asked for the increased funding. The bill must still be approved by Senate Appropriations Committee, the full Senate and the House. Last year, Congress allocated $103 million for cleanup at the plant. "The community has spoken with one voice on its desire to move forward on cleaning up the plant," McConnell said. McConnell said he hopes officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Kentucky Natural Resources Cabinet will soon come to an agreement on an accelerated cleanup plan. "Doing so will help me protect this money ...," McConnell said. The $10 million for depleted uranium conversion will be used to keep DOE on track to construct two depleted uranium conversion facilities at the Paducah and Piketon, Ohio, plants, McConnell said. Last week, the Senate approved another bill that requires DOE to start construction on the two plants by July 31, 2004. The facilities will be used to convert the nearly 60,000 cylinders of hazardous depleted uranium hexafluoride that have been stored on the site since the early 1950s. ***************************************************************** 6 TVA directors approve money for newest, oldest reactors The Oak Ridger Online -- State News -- Wednesday, July 24, 2002 The Associated Press KNOXVILLE (AP) -- The Tennessee Valley Authority on Tuesday approved millions of dollars to restart its oldest nuclear reactor and to repair the steam generators at its newest nuclear station. TVA's three-member board, meeting in Hickory, Ky., endorsed the first contract toward the $1.8 billion revival of the Unit 1 reactor at the Browns Ferry nuclear station near Athens, Ala. The reactor, which began operation in 1973 and is TVA's oldest, has been idle since 1985 -- the year TVA shut down its entire nuclear program because of safety concerns. Since then TVA has successfully restarted Browns Ferry's two other reactors. The $450 million Browns Ferry appropriation, part of an $820 million maintenance contract with Stone and Webster Construction, puts the shuttered Browns Ferry reactor on schedule to be back in service by May 2007. "We hope to beat that," TVA Nuclear Chief John Scalice said. Browns Ferry Unit 1 could add some 1,250 megawatts of capacity to the TVA power system, enough to light more than 650,000 homes. The board also approved $68.4 million to replace the steam generators at TVA's Watts Bar station near Spring City in 2006. The one-unit plant came online barely six years ago after two decades of construction. "This was anticipated even before we licensed this plant -- that the steam generators would not last the life of the plant," Scalice said. Internal corrosion problems had been documented on other Westinghouse designed steam generators and couldn't be effectively repaired, he said. TVA's Seqouyah nuclear station near Chattanooga, which is Watts Bar's twin, will get new steam generators next spring -- a repair that can take two months. Scalice said the majority of the $450 million Stone and Webster contract for Browns Ferry Unit 1 will be spent on labor. Some 400 workers already are involved in the rehabilitation of the reactor. An engineering contract for the project worth some $270 million is under negotiation now and should be ready for TVA board approval in September, he said. The proposal anticipates large-scale equipment removal, replacement and decontamination of the reactor building, essentially "gutting portions of it, cleaning it out and going back and building it in," Scalice said. TVA still hasn't decided how it will finance the project, which threatens to reverse a recent effort to reduce the utility's $25 billion debt. TVA officials are negotiating with Boston-based Charles River Associates to review private and public financing options for the project. Chattanooga financier Franklin Haney already has submitted a financing deal for Browns Ferry. The White House Office of Management and Budget has criticized TVA for proceeding with the Browns Ferry project without developing and submitting a comprehensive business plan. TVA spokesman John Moulton said the agency is working on such a plan. and continues to meet with OMB about it. "We're not ignoring OMB," he said. TVA is the country's largest public power producer, serving 8.3 million people through 158 distributors in Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Virginia. On the Net: Tennessee Valley Authority: http://www.tva.gov/ [http://www.tva.gov/] [http://www.oakridger.com/dailydouble] [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 7 AU: Fresh faultline fear for N-reactor NEWS.com.au | (July 24, 2002) A SECOND earthquake faultline may lie beneath the site of Sydney's replacement nuclear reactor, halting construction indefinitely. Foundation work on the Lucas Heights site came to a halt earlier this year and is unlikely to begin again for months until nuclear safety experts deemed it safe. Argentinian company INVAP has been contracted to build the reactor. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority (ARPANSA) was waiting on a safety report commissioned by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). ARPANSA today confirmed it could be months before work on the foundations continued, but said other building work could take place. ARPANSA chief executive John Loy is to receive a safety report from the Institute for Geological Nuclear Sciences (IGNS) and has sought advice from GeoScience Australia and other world nuclear experts. He will wait for the IGNS report and hold a further review before considering giving ANSTO the go-ahead to continue foundation work. An ARPANSA spokesman today said Dr Loy made a presentation to the nuclear safety committee on July 12 outlining the status of the reactor. He revealed there could be more than one faultline. "It is certainly possible that there is more than one but we don't know that yet," the spokesman said. The construction licence remained valid and other building work could be executed but no work could proceed on the foundations, the spokesman said. "The site is quite large so that means they are able to do many other things," he said. "They just aren't able to work on the foundations of the building." GeoScience Australia is likely to undertake the ARPANSA review but it would take time, the spokesman said. "It could yet be some months before ANSTO can lift a finger to do further work on the foundations," he said. "It remains to be seen." AAP [http://www.news.com.au ***************************************************************** 8 Commission finds 5 violations at Richland plant This story was published Tue, Jul 23, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer The Nuclear Regulatory Commission found five "apparent violations" after it investigated an April safety glitch at Framatome ANP's Richland plant. Information on the exact nature of the violations was not available late Monday, but all five come from an April 3 incident at the plant. Framatome officials are to meet with the NRC in Arlington, Texas, on Friday to discuss the violations. The NRC will decide at a later date whether to take any enforcement actions. While the April 3 incident removed a criticality barrier, other measures were in place to prevent a criticality -- an uncontrolled burst of possibly fatal radiation -- from occurring, said NRC spokesman Breck Henderson. Framatome manufactures fuel assemblies for commercial nuclear reactors. A criticality occurs when certain radioactive materials in specific masses and shapes come close enough to cause an uncontrolled reaction. The standard nuclear industry practice is to install two, three, or more "barriers" to prevent those conditions from happening. The theory is that if one barrier fails, the others will still prevent a criticality. Barriers can be walls to separate materials, a small container in a certain shape, keeping two masses a certain distance apart, or removing all moisture. On April 3, a Framatome employee poured uranium oxide powder into a 45-gallon barrel. One barrier existing that day was the fact that the powder was dry. But a second barrier -- a "spider assembly" containing boron, which absorbs neutrons to prevent a criticality -- was missing from the barrel. Apparently, after the spider assembly was removed, the barrel mistakenly was returned to a group of drums that were to receive the uranium oxide powder, Henderson said. Framatome spokesman Chris Powers said the company took several corrective actions and retrained employees after the incident. Framatome hopes that the strength of its corrective actions, and the fact that the other barriers remained in place to keep any risks low will convince the NRC not to penalize the company, Powers said. Framatome's Richland plant has recorded two past losses of single criticality barriers in 1998 and 1999 when the facility was owned by Siemens Power Corp. In both cases, other barriers prevented a criticality. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 9 Reactor hits another hurdle NEWS.com.au | (July 24, 2002) By Linda McSweeny July 24, 2002 THE bid to build a new nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights has hit another snag with news a possible second earthquake faultline could halt work indefinitely. Argentinian company INVAP has overcome financial woes and been contracted to build a replacement nuclear research reactor at Lucas Heights. But foundation work on the southern Sydney site came to a halt earlier this year and is unlikely to begin again for months until nuclear safety experts deem it safe. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority (ARPANSA) is waiting on a safety report commissioned by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). ARPANSA today confirmed it could be months before work on the foundations continued but said other building work could take place. ARPANSA chief executive John Loy is to receive a safety report from the Institute for Geological Nuclear Sciences (IGNS) and has sought advice from GeoScience Australia and other world nuclear experts. He will also hold his own review before considering giving ANSTO the go-ahead to continue foundation work. An ARPANSA spokesman said Dr Loy made a presentation to the nuclear safety committee on July 12 outlining the status of the reactor. He revealed there could be more than one faultline. "It is certainly possible that there is more than one but we don't know that yet," the spokesman said. The construction licence remained valid and other building work could be executed but no work could proceed on the foundations, the spokesman said. "The site is quite large so that means they are able to do many other things," he said. "They just aren't able to work on the foundations of the building." GeoScience Australia is likely to undertake the ARPANSA review but it would take time, the spokesman said. "It could yet be some months before ANSTO can lift a finger to do further work on the foundations," he said. "It remains to be seen." The news came as a Reaction Campaign began in Sydney, with a public forum to be held tomorrow. Medical groups, political parties, unions, Sydney councils, community groups and businesses released 80 signed statements opposing the reactor in Sydney's south. They said a series of issues continued to undermine the viability of the project. "It seems madness to continue a project that directly threatens the health of the people of Sydney," they said in a statement. The campaigners will hold a public forum tomorrow from 7-9pm at Redfern Town Hall in Sydney. AAP NEWS.COM.AU ***************************************************************** 10 Coalition wants Davis-Besse closed permanently The Plain Dealer 07/24/02 Toledo - A coalition of environmental, anti-nuclear and political groups is calling for the Davis-Besse nuclear plant near Toledo to be permanently closed, saying it is too unsafe and poorly maintained. The Citizens Campaign to Close Davis-Besse is planning a rally at 1 p.m. Saturday at Crane Creek State Park in Oak Harbor, east of Toledo. The nuclear plant has been closed since Feb. 16. It shut down temporarily for refueling and federally mandated inspections but the outage has been extended indefinitely because of a rust hole the size of a loaf of bread in the 6˝-inch-thick reactor lid. FirstEnergy plans to install a new lid and make other repairs by the end of the year. The company says the reactor can be restarted and operated safely. A spokesman dismissed the coalition's call for a permanent shutdown, saying its members have been making the same demand for years. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating how the rust hole formed and could have existed for years without being noticed. The agency has final say on when the reactor can be restarted. The coalition says that should never happen. Coalition member John Kiely, a structural engineer with six years of experience designing nuclear power plant containment buildings, said the steel containment liner that is the final barrier between the reactor and the environment has been poorly maintained. The NRC is concerned about the possibility of corrosion on both the inside and outside surfaces of the 1˝-inch-thick liner and has asked FirstEnergy to test it. Members of the coalition are the Northwest Ohio Green Party, University of Toledo Campus Greens, Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition, Nuclear Information & Resource Service, Food Not Bombs, Citizens Protecting Ohio, Toledo Coalition For Safe Energy and the Young People's Socialist League. For recent Davis-Besse coverage go to http://www.cleveland.com/davisbesse/. © 2002 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. © 2002 cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 Unit 1 restart moves forward By Mike Goens Senior Editor July 24, 2002 Another major step toward restarting the Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant was taken Tuesday with the Tennessee Valley Authority board's approval of an $820 million maintenance contract. Most of that money, $450 million, will go toward restarting the nuclear reactor, which has been idle since 1985. The reactor is the oldest operated by TVA. "This is the first major contract awarded, but there is already some work under way at Browns Ferry (near Athens)," said TVA spokesman John Moulton. "It is a significant step." The contract was awarded to Stone and Webster Construction, which Moulton said has TVA's current nuclear reactor maintenance contract. The company handles outages and other projects at nuclear plants. TVA officials estimate it will take $1.8 billion to bring the reactor back on line. The project involves dismantling and removing much of the equipment. It also involves decontamination and replacement of the reactor building. John Scalice, TVA's nuclear chief, said the project involves "gutting portions of it, cleaning it out and going back and building it in." He said the contract approved Tuesday puts the project on schedule to have Unit 1 back in service by May 2007. He said TVA hopes to finish ahead of that target date. Unit 1 could add enough power - about 1,250 megawatts of capacity - to light more than 650,000 homes, TVA officials say. Moulton said most of Browns Ferry's portion of the contract will be spent on labor. Scalice said about 400 workers are already on site and involved in the rehabilitation effort. Much of the work going on there now involves a "walk-down" study that involves determining the cost and extent of the rehabilitation work needed to bring the unit on line. Many of the workers on site live in and around the Shoals, said Gene Tackett, president of the Shoals Area Central Labor Council. He said about 45 electricians from the local IBEW union are already involved as are several others involved in various other crafts. More Shoals workers will be involved when the project hits its peak work period around November 2004, Moulton said. He said the work will be done in phases, and 2,400 workers will be involved during the five-year period. Tackett called Stone and Webster "a good contractor with a good safety record." He expects activity to pick up when TVA's new operation budget begins Oct. 1. "This project shows the tremendous confidence TVA has in its nuclear program and the confidence it has in the work force that supply the crafts and skills needed," Tackett said. "We have had a long and successful relationship that has benefited TVA and our labor force." Moulton said the next step in the process involves awarding an engineering and architectural contract, which will be about $270 million. Moulton said TVA officials are meeting with several companies to detail the work needed. He said officials hope the bids will be presented to TVA board members during the September meeting. The reactor began operation in 1973. It was closed in 1985 along with all other facilities in the TVA nuclear program because of safety concerns. Unit 2 and Unit 3 reactors at TVA have been restarted. TVA still hasn't decided how it will finance the project, which threatens to erase the progress the agency has made toward reducing its debt, which is now about $25 billion. TVA officials are negotiating with Boston-based Charles River Associates to review private and public financing options for the project. The White House Office of Management and Budget has criticized TVA for proceeding with the Browns Ferry project without developing and submitting a comprehensive business plan. Mike Goens can be reached at 740-5740 or mike.goens@timesdaily.com [mike.goens@timesdaily.com] . The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright © 2002 TimesDaily | Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 12 TVA OKs restart of its oldest reactor KnoxNews: Business Browns Ferry's Unit 1 should be up by '07 By Duncan Mansfield, Associated Press July 24, 2002 The Tennessee Valley Authority on Tuesday approved millions of dollars to restart its oldest nuclear reactor and to repair the steam generators at its newest nuclear station. TVA's three-member board, meeting in Hickory, Ky., endorsed the first contract toward the $1.8 billion revival of the Unit 1 reactor at the Browns Ferry nuclear station near Athens, Ala. The reactor, which began operation in 1973 and is TVA's oldest, has been idle since 1985 - the year TVA shut down its entire nuclear program because of safety concerns. Since then TVA has successfully restarted Browns Ferry's two other reactors. The $450 million Browns Ferry appropriation, part of an $820 million maintenance contract with Stone and Webster Construction, puts the shuttered Browns Ferry reactor on schedule to be back in service by May 2007. "We hope to beat that," TVA Nuclear Chief John Scalice said. Browns Ferry Unit 1 could add some 1,250 megawatts of capacity to the TVA power system, enough to light more than 650,000 homes. The board also approved $68.4 million to replace the steam generators at TVA's Watts Bar station near Spring City in 2006. Internal corrosion problems had been documented on other Westinghouse-designed steam generators and couldn't be effectively repaired, Scalice said. TVA's Sequoyah nuclear station near Chattanooga, which is Watts Bar's twin, will get new steam generators next spring - a repair that could take two months. Scalice said the majority of the $450 million Stone and Webster contract for Browns Ferry Unit 1 will be spent on labor. An engineering contract for the project worth some $270 million is under negotiation now and should be ready for TVA board approval in September, he said. The proposal anticipates large-scale equipment removal, replacement and decontamination of the reactor building, essentially "gutting portions of it, cleaning it out and going back and building it in," Scalice said. TVA still hasn't decided how it will finance the project, which threatens to reverse a recent effort to reduce the utility's $25 billion debt. TVA officials are negotiating with Boston-based Charles River Associates to review private and public financing options for the project. Chattanooga financier Franklin Haney already has submitted a financing deal for Browns Ferry. The White House Office of Management and Budget has criticized TVA for proceeding with the Browns Ferry project without developing and submitting a comprehensive business plan. TVA spokesman John Moulton said the agency is working on such a plan and continues to meet with OMB about it. The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 13 AU: Campaign to stop N-reactor NEWS.com.au | (July 24, 2002) July 24, 2002 A RENEWED campaign against the construction of a replacement nuclear reactor at Sydney's Lucas Heights has begun. Medical groups, political parties, unions, Sydney councils, community groups and businesses today released 80 signed statements opposing the reactor in Sydney's south. The Maritime Union of Australia, which opposes shipments of nuclear waste sailing past Australian waters, said it was more important than ever to speak out against a nuclear reactor. Waverley Council Mayor Paul Pearce said no community in Sydney or Australia should have a nuclear reactor or waste dump over their back fence. The campaign comes amid revelations earthquake fault lines exist near the site. The government has yet to publicly release findings of an expert report on the site after the recent discovery of a fault line during a routine examination. There are reportedly two fault lines but the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) has said more work is needed to establish implications of report findings. Argentinian company INVAP has been contracted to build a replacement nuclear research reactor at the site of the current Lucas Heights facility. Campaigners today said a series of issues continued to undermine the viability of the project. "It seems madness to continue a project that directly threatens the health of the people of Sydney," they said in a statement. The vice president and policy convenor for the Public Health Association of Australia, Helen Keleher, said there were safe alternatives to nuclear power that did not have such potentially catastrophic consequences for the health of people and the environment. The campaigners will hold a public forum tomorrow from 7-9pm at Redfern Town Hall in Sydney. AAP ***************************************************************** 14 NRC Proposes $3,000 Fine Against Virginia Firm for Violation of NRC Radioactive Material Safety Requirements NRC: Press Release Region II - 2002 - 38 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 www.nrc.gov No. II-02-038 July 24, 2002 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416 Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov [opa2@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $3,000 civil penalty against CTI Consultants, Inc., of Chantilly, Virginia, for violation of NRC safety requirements related to a January 17, 2001, incident at a job site near Dulles International Airport. NRC inspections and an investigation by the agency's Office of Investigations revealed that a company employee failed to control and maintain constant surveillance of licensed radioactive material as required. Specifically, a CTI operator temporarily walked away from a portable Troxler soil moisture density gauge containing 40 millicuries of Americium and 8 millicuries of Cesium-137 in an unrestricted area. The gauge was subsequently run over and damaged by a bulldozer. NRC officials said no over exposures to radioactivity occurred and that the company's corrective actions were adequate. The company was cited for two additional violations associated with the incident. The NRC said the company failed to notify the agency of the incident within 24 hours as required and improperly transferred the damaged gauge for storage at another company which had no NRC license authorizing receipt of this type, form or quantity of material. The company has 30 days from receipt of the NRC Notice of Violation to either pay the civil penalty or to protest its imposition, in whole or in part. Members of the public may obtain copies of the letter from the NRC to the company at the above email address or from the NRC Internet Web Site at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html [http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html] (the public electronic reading room). ***************************************************************** 15 Border cargo being scanned for 'dirty bombs' HoustonChronicle.com /July 23, 2002, 11:13PM/ *Associated Press* *RESOURCES: HOMEFRONT* Associated Press /. WASHINGTON -- Specially equipped trucks are scanning unopened shipping containers at U.S. borders for radiation emissions from so-called dirty bombs, customs and corporate officials said Tuesday. They are part of a battery of new equipment being dispatched to border agents to help prevent terrorists from smuggling into the country a bomb that would spread radioactive waste over populated areas, U.S. Customs Service officials say. "We are getting this equipment out as fast as we can," said Dean Boyd, spokesman for the Customs Service. Twenty-four such trucks are being used in the United States, its manufacturer said. American Science and Engineering Inc. displayed one of the $2 million vehicles in Washington in part to get Congress' attention as lawmakers consider domestic security. "There is a realization of how careless we've become in handling radioactive material," said Ralph Sheridan, AS&E's chief executive. The trucks approach one end of a container, extend a giant arm, or boom, over and partway down the other side of the structure and begin the scan. The scanning truck then moves forward at six inches per second, as X-ray images of the container's contents light up a video screen monitored by an analyst. The truck emits a high-pitched alarm when it detects radiation from a particle as small as an M&M. The technology, Sheridan said, is faster than a physical inspection and does not slow down the flow of commerce. Sheridan said the 24 trucks currently in use are at the national borders and the ports of Boston; Long Beach, Calif.; and West Palm Beach, Fla. Two U.S. military installations also use the trucks. They are "part of a much larger procurement" to be ordered by the government. Another 24 trucks have been deployed at ports around the world, in Egypt, Britain, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and other countries. Boyd said the equipment is part of an array of new hardware the Customs Service is deploying. More than 9,000 radiation-detecting pagers will be issued to every customs inspector by January. Inspectors also will use hand-held isotope identifiers, which when passed over a suspicious item can identify the type of radiation being emitted. The Customs Service also uses X-ray vans to detect radiation. ***************************************************************** 16 DEFRA, UK: GOVERNMENT ACTS TO REDUCE RADIOACTIVE DISCHARGES Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR Out of hours: 020 7270 8960 23 July 2002 Major cuts will be made to UK discharges of radioactive materials by 2020 according to plans announced today by Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett. The UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges 2001-2020 sets out how the UK will implement the OSPAR Radioactive Discharges Strategy. The aim of that Strategy is to ensure progressive reduction of concentrations of radioactive substances in the marine environment such that by 2020 they add close to zero to historic levels. The announcement was made in answer to a written PQ (full text attached). Margaret Beckett commented: "We have already seen radioactive discharges, particularly discharges of the most radiotoxic radionuclides, in the UK reduce very considerably. Total discharges of beta activity from the British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) site at Sellafield have come down to less than 1% of their peak levels in the 1970s and alpha discharges to just 0.06% of peak levels. "Estimated radiation doses to the most exposed members of the public near Sellafield have reduced as well, from close to 3 mSv a year in the late 1970s to 0.15 mSv today. This exposure will carry on falling and we expect it to be less than 0.02mSv a year by 2020, from ongoing liquid discharges. This is one fiftieth of the International Commission on Radiological protection's current recommended dose limit for members of the public. Indeed, to put this into perspective, a person taking a return flight from London to the Canary Islands would receive about 0.03 mSv from cosmic radiation. " Closing the remaining Magnox power stations and the end of Magnox fuel reprocessing at Sellafield will be a key element in further discharge reductions. BNFL have already announced that their six operating Magnox stations will be shut down by 2010 at the latest and the Magnox reprocessing plant at Sellafield closed by around 2012. Discharges from THORP are much less than those from Magnox reprocessing. Before any new contracts for THORP are entered into, we will carry out a review of reprocessing which will look closely at whether THORP's continued operation is consistent with our environmental objectives and international obligations. "This strategy sets out a challenging but achievable programme of discharge reductions. It represents the next chapter of what has been an increasingly effective, longterm policy to minimise radioactive discharges. The Government is determined to maintain this downward pressure and to meet the OSPAR objective for 2020." The UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges 2001-2020 is based on plant closures, introduction of new abatement techniques and rigorous application of "best practicable means" for reducing discharges. It will be kept under review and updated about every four years. Progress towards achievement of the OSPAR objective for 2020 will be closely monitored by measuring actual concentrations of radioactive substances in the marine environment and modelling future concentrations on the basis of predicted discharges. The strategy sets out the following targets for reducing discharges from the major sectors of the nuclear industry: + Nuclear fuel production and uranium enrichment: By 2006, production of Magnox fuel and uranium hexafluoride at Springfields are expected to cease, with consequent major reductions in alpha and beta discharges. By 2020, liquid discharges are expected to be reduced by more than 99% from around 120 TBq a year to virtually zero for beta-emitting nuclides and from about 0.25 TBq to less than 0.01 TBq a year for alpha-emitting nuclides. + Nuclear energy production: By 2010, all of the currently operating Magnox power stations are expected to have closed down, with consequent major reductions in discharges following defuelling and post-operational clean-out. By 2020, total beta/gamma discharges (excluding tritium) are expected to be reduced by 85% from more than 10 TBq to less than 1.5 TBq a year. Discharges of tritium are expected to be reduced by 70% from more than 2800 TBq to about 850 TBq a year. + Spent fuel reprocessing: Tc-99 discharges from reprocessing are expected to be reduced by 99% from close to 90 TBq a year to less than 1 TBq a year by 2020. By around 2012, reprocessing of spent Magnox fuel is expected to cease, with consequent significant reductions in discharges. By 2020, total alpha/beta liquid discharges (excluding tritium) are expected to be reduced by 70% from 165 TBq a year to around 50 TBq a year. + Research facilities: by 2020, total alpha/beta discharges (excluding tritium) are expected to be reduced by over 75% from more than 4 TBq a year to less than 1 TBq a year; tritium discharges are expected to be reduced by 98% from more than 1000 TBq a year to about 20 TBq a year. + Defence facilities: By 2005, radioactive discharges to the Thames from AWE Aldermaston are expected to cease (100% reduction). By 2020, tritium discharges from the defence sector are expected to be reduced by about 43% from 0.7 TBq to 0.4 TBq a year and other beta/gamma discharges are expected to be reduced by 40% from 0.005 to 0.003 TBq a year. + Other sources of discharges: Due to the diverse nature of other minor sources of radioactive discharges, no discharge profile or target is set for this sector. The presumption is that these discharges will continue to be tightly controlled and reduced wherever practicable. The UK Strategy Radioactive Discharges 2001 to 2020 is on the DEFRA website at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/radioactivity/discharge/strategy/index.htm Notes for editors 1. The publication of the UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges 2001-2020 fulfils a commitment to provide the Oslo and Paris (OSPAR) Commission with a national plan for reducing discharges of radioactive substances, following a 1998 agreement by all OSPAR member countries. The OSPAR time frame sets 2020 as the date by which radioactive discharges should add virtually nothing to historic concentrations of radioactivity in the marine environment. 2. This first discharges strategy focuses on liquid discharges to sea, since these have the most direct effect on the marine environment. Future editions of the strategy (which will be updated about every four years) will cover both liquid and aerial discharges. 3. Everyone is exposed to ionising radiation, most of which is of natural origin and includes cosmic rays from outer space, gamma radiation from the rocks and soils of the earth's crust, and radionuclides (e.g. polonium-210 and potassium-40) in foods. The background radiation doses which people receive depend on where they live, their habits and their diet. Some 85% of the average amount of radiation to which the UK population is exposed each year occurs naturally, largely as a result of radon gas. A further 14% comes from medical exposure and most of the remaining 1% is from weapons test fallout, occupational and miscellaneous exposure. 4. For the population as a whole, discharges from nuclear installations contribute less than 0.1% to the annual average dose of 2.6 millisieverts (mSv). Even typical members of the public living in the vicinity of nuclear installations generally receive less than 0.006 mSv a year as a result of radioactive discharges. 5. However, some members of the public close to nuclear installations are assumed to receive higher doses, due to their higher than average consumption of certain foodstuffs (as established by surveys), frequenting certain areas or living in close proximity to the site. These are known as "critical groups". The highest estimated dose from discharges from nuclear sites to a representative member of a critical group in the UK was 0.15 mSv a year in 2000, as a result of current and historic discharges from Sellafield. Of this, about 0.06 mSv is estimated to be contributed by current discharges. By 2020, it is estimated that the dose from then current discharges will be reduced further to 0.02 mSv a year or less. This compares with the current EU limit of 1 mSv a year from artificial sources. 6. Ministers are currently considering the Environment Agency's draft decision on discharge limits for technetium-99 at Sellafield and an announcement is expected shortly. The Environment Agency is also expected to announce soon its draft decision on discharge limits for other radionuclides at Sellafield. Public Enquiries: 08459 335577 Press Notices available via DEFRA website http://www.defra.gov.uk ***************************************************************** 17 Four Jailed for Stealing Radioactive Material in Sichuan Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Four people were jailed Tuesday for stealing the radioactive material Cobalt 60 in Panzhihua, Southwest China's Sichuan province, Sichuan Morning News reported. Four people were jailed Tuesday for stealing the radioactive material Cobalt 60 in Panzhihua, Southwest China's Sichuan province, Sichuan Morning News reported. The Panzhihua people's procuratorate sentenced the four perpetrators to 11 years, 10 and a half years, 8 months and 6 months in prison respectively for stealing dangerous materials, keeping and selling the stolen items. The Panzhihua 502 power station discovered that the 63 units of Cobalt 60 were missing during a routine check on February 22, 2002. Cobalt 60 is a highly radioactive material, with 63 units of Cobalt 60 capable of causing radiation damage comparable to that of an A-bomb. Local police set up a special investigation team immediately upon receiving the report and caught the thieves within seven hours. The four "innocent" thieves, former employees of the power station, mistook the Cobalt 60, which is coated in lead, for an ordinary metal and sold it to a metal recycling factory for 2.2 yuan (27 US cents) per kilogram. Chinadaily Contributes to This Report Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 18 U.S. military goods could fall into wrong hands Worcester Telegram & Gazette - World/Regional Wednesday, July 24, 2002 By Melissa B. Robinson THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON-- The military has transported cannons, Black Hawk helicopters, nuclear protective gear and other sensitive equipment on foreign ships with alien crews, government investigators have found. Some crew members were found to be from countries that harbor known terrorist activities. “The equipment could fall into the hands of individuals or groups whose interests run counter to those of the United States,” Raymond Decker, director of defense capabilities and management for the General Accounting Office, said yesterday. The equipment could be used in terror attacks on military or civilian targets, Decker told the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, veterans affairs and international relations. Or it could be destroyed or tampered with, preventing U.S. troops from carrying out their missions, he said. As part of an investigation into the security of seaports used by U.S. forces, GAO reviewed overseas deployments of equipment from three military installations in 2001. In wartime, more than 95 percent of equipment and supplies needed for military operations is sent by sea. The danger of unconventional threats at seaports was highlighted by the October 2000 terror bombing of the USS Cole. Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed when a dinghy loaded with explosives rammed the Navy destroyed as it refueling in Yemen on the Arabian peninsula. GAO, Congress' investigatory arm, found that the Pentagon either relinquishes control of its equipment or has insufficient information about handlers during sensitive activities. Controls were found lacking for movement of equipment from installations to ports by private trucking and railroad carriers, transfer of equipment into ships by civilian port workers, and transportation of equipment overseas by private shippers with civilian crews. GAO did not review the Pentagon's evaluation of private truckers and rail carriers, who are required to secure the equipment they transport. But the transfer of accountability to such third parties “creates a gap in DOD's oversight of its assets between installations and ports,” Decker said. At seaports, the equipment comes under military control, but civilian workers, stevedores and longshoremen handling it have limited screening and background checks, GAO said. Congress is considering port security improvements, including better screening and tighter access restrictions. From ports, the equipment sometimes is shipped on foreign-flagged vessels, GAO said. The Pentagon prefers commercial shipping to government vessels because it is cheaper and more efficient, it said, and U.S.-flagged ships aren't always available or adequate for a particular job. Crew lists are reviewed for security threats. Still, the GAO found crew members from countries with known terrorist activities transporting Bradley Fighting Vehicles; 155-mm towed howitzers; Black Hawk helicopters; .50-caliber machine guns; night-vision equipment; body armor; and nuclear, biological and chemical protective gear. The report did not name the countries. The ships' manifests did not show that armed Pentagon personnel were on board, though maintenance personnel sometimes were, it said. Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky of the Military Traffic Management Command, which organizes and coordinates the movement of cargo for the military through seaports, said deployments are tightly controlled, with equipment scanned for accountability purposes at several points. However, the command lacks enough port security resources of its own, he said, and “we rely on local port police, law enforcement or contract security forces to fill in the gaps.” Telegram & Gazette, ***************************************************************** 19 OPPOSE RADIOACTIVE TRANSPORT REGS. by noon 7/28, AND by 7/29 Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 11:14:32 -0500 (CDT) Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 08:43:31 -0400 From: Michael Mariotte To: dianed@igc.org Subject: SignOn by noon 7/28; Comment directly by 7/29 on DOT NRC Transpt Regs DOT and NRC's Radioactive Transport Regs COMMENT DEADLINE IS MONDAY JULY 29, 2002. Ideally many of us will send individual and group comments to the NRC and DOT, so do send in your own and your group's comments, but you can also SIGN ON to the attached group comment letter. Sunday Noon JULY 28, 2002 = DEADLINE TO SIGN ON TO THE GROUP COMMENT LETTER. SIGN on by responding to Diane D'Arrigo at dianed@nirs.org Send your Name, Organization, Address incl City, State, Country, Zip, Phone, Email To comment directly to NRC and DOT send comments to: NRC: FAX 301-415-1101 UPLOAD to NRC Website http://ruleforum.llnl.gov Mail: Secretary US NRC, Wash, DC 20555-0001 ATTN: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff DOT: Fax: 202 366-3650 (call 366-4545 to confirm) UPLOAD to DOT Website http://dms.dot Mail: Dockets Unit, US DOT Room; PL-401 400 7th Street SW, Wash, DC 20590-0001 This is one of the longest and most complex rules, and NIRS Alerts have focussed only on some parts. Silence on any part does not imply agreement or support for it. Numerous entities have requested an extension of the comment period and NIRS supports an extension, however, no notice has come back to us on whether that request will be granted. Comment deadline to both agencies is July 29, 2002 SIGN ON LETTER Comments to US Department of Transportation (DOT) Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) 67 FR 83:21328-21388 4/30/2002 Docket No. RSPA-99-6283 (HM-230) Hazardous Materials Regulations; Compatibility with the Regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency Comments to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 10 CFR 71 67 FR 21390-21484 4/30/2002 RIN 3150-AG71 Compatibility With IAEA Transportation Safety Standards (TS-R-1) and Other Transportation Safety Amendments July 29, 2002 The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are proposing to weaken radioactive transport regulations at a time of potentially massive increases in nuclear waste shipments and the threats of deliberate terrorist attacks on shipments and use of radioactive materials for dirty bombs. Both agencies have stated that they will not address the issues that have arisen since September 11, 2001 as part of this rulemaking despite the obvious need. NRC is proposing 19 changes and DOT is proposing 10 changes , many of which should be fully evaluated in light of September 11th and heightened security. Neither DOT nor NRC believes that the enormous expected increase in the number of shipments needs to be considered in making these changes that will inevitably affect those shipments and the thousands of communities through which they will pass in the decades to come. In fact they are satisfied to use twenty year old data to justify updated rule changes, some of which reduce public safety. We argue that the real world situation and updated data must be used to estimate the impacts of the rule change. DOT and NRC should use more current data and future projections including the expected increases in actual nuclear shipments. Rather than address and improve the inadequacy of existing design requirements for irradiated fuel containers in this rulemaking, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is carrying out a separate Package Performance Study, but that appears to be delayed, thus unable to instruct this rulemaking. That study and real cask tests should be done first and the results incorporated into this rulemaking. We oppose the weakening of existing standards, the failure to strengthen existing deficiencies, and failure to fully evaluate the risks in light of the enormous increases in various types of shipments that can be expected in the near future. Political Concern: We oppose the process that has evolved for the United States development of new radioactive transportation standards through the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency. The process is not democratic. The documents are not easily or freely available. The deliberations and negotiations are neither widely noticed nor easily accessible to the general public. The International Atomic Energy Agency, chartered as a promoter of nuclear industry technology around the world, developed the recommendations without general public knowledge or input. The regulations were transferred to other UN agencies, the International Civil Aviation Organization and International Maritime Organization. IAEA and these Organizations have agreements and routines for accepting IAEAs rules into the UN Recommendations which member nations are obliged to adopt for international regulatory harmony. Harmonization (international conformity) is a poor excuse for accepting the nuclear power industrys desires to weaken nuclear transport regulations, yet this is the primary justification given in both the NRC and DOT proposed rules for accepting changes that weaken protections. Technical Concerns: Old data, lack of data, reliance on ICRP, reliance on computer model scenarios that may not be realistic to project doses, no calculations for more than 350 radionuclides Reliance is placed on unchallenged assumptions from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) on the risk of each of hundreds of radionuclides. ICRP does not represent the full spectrum of scientific opinion on radiation and health. Even though its most current risk estimates are used in this rulemaking, they do not take into consideration important information on the health impacts of radiation such as A) synergism with other contaminants in the environment and B) the bystander effect, in which cells that are near cells that are hit but are not themselves hit by ionizing radiation exhibit effects of the exposure. Other organizations are now formed to independently assess various aspects of radiation and health, so ICRP can be questioned and challenged. The realism of the exposure models used to justify certain exposure scenarios is inadequate. The stated motive for changing the transportation regulations, including adopting the Radioactivity Exemption Tables is to 1) facilitate nuclear transportation and 2) harmonize international standards. Neither of these objectives should supercede protecting public health and safety nor do they justify reducing existing protections. The technically significant motive for the adopting exemption values is to facilitate radioactive release and recycling or dispersal of nuclear waste into daily commerce and household items. We oppose this action and the motive. These comments address some of the proposed changes. Silence should not be interpreted as agreement with the unaddressed issues. We specifically oppose: 1-Legalizing the exemption of varying amounts of radionuclides from transportation regulatory control (raising allowable exempt concentrations for majority of radionuclides and allowing exempt quantities of radioactive materials in transit, not permitted before) 2- Allowing certificate holders for Dual Purpose Containers (irradiated fuel casks used for both storage and transport) to make design changes without NRC approval or notification. 3-Removing the US requirement that plutonium be shipped in double shelled containers. 4- Allowing greater contamination on surfaces of irradiated fuel and high level radioactive waste containers (NRC says it will not adopt this change and we support NRC in refusing to do so.) Detailed Concerns with Exempting Radionuclides from Transport Regulations: We ask DOT to remove DOT Issue #1 and NRC to remove NRC Issue #2, the Radioactivity/Radionuclide Exemption Tables, and accompanying change in the definition of radioactive materials (part of Issue #9) from the proposed rules on nuclear transportation regulations (10 CFR 71 and 49 CFR 171 et al). Due to daily reminders about the danger of radioactive dirty bombs, the government has been supplying detection equipment to watch for and prevent nuclear materials getting out of regulatory control. Absurdly, the US DOT and NRC are proposing to EXEMPT some of every radionuclide, including plutoniums, strontiums, cesiums, and hundreds of others, at various amounts and concentrations, from regulatory control. It is already enormously difficult and expensive to detect and find radioactive materials that might be used for dirty bombs. What sense does it make now to intentionally exempt shipments of radioactive wastes and materials from the existing controls, tracking and regulations that have been in place for decades? If the regulations are changed, various levels of radioactive wastes and materials would be considered no longer radioactive and free to be shipped as if uncontaminated. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has admitted that the proposed increases in exempt concentrations of radioactive materials will reduce public health and safety. The Department of Transportation and Nuclear Regulatory Commission should be tightening controls on radioactive materials, not taking steps that will open the door to deliberately dispersing them into unregulated commerce. If or when NRC and DOT adopt the Radioactivity Exemption Tables and redefine radioactive materials, they remove a significant barrier to the purposeful release of radioactive materials, from nuclear power and weapons production, into raw materials that can be used to make daily items that come into intimate contact with unsuspecting members of the public. The public opinion is quite clear that nuclear power and weapons wastes should remain sequestered from the environment and the public for as long as they remain hazardous. The assumptions and scenarios used to justify the adoption of the Exempt Radioactivity (Radionuclide) Concentration Tables do not prove that exempting radionuclides from regulatory control will have no effect or an insignificant effect. Neither DOT nor NRC (nor the international promoters) have developed and pursued actual transport exposure scenarios for every radionuclide to justify exempt quantities and concentrations, yet they plan to exempt hundreds of them at individually selected levels. The DOT definition of radioactive material changes in the new rules. It is now defined as any material having a specific activity greater than 70 Bq per gram (.002 microcurie per gram). The current exempt concentration for all radioactivity is 70 becquerels per gram per square centimeter or 70 radioactive disintegrations (alpha or beta particles or gamma rays) per second/gram. Currently there are no exempt quantities. The new definition of radioactive material would change to any material containing radionuclides where both the activity concentration and the total activity in the consignment exceed the values specified in[the Exemption Tables]. Since the tables enable much more radioactivity to be exempt, more radioactive material can move unregulated in commerce on our roads, rails, and other transport pathways. DOT and NRC appear not to have carried out calculations for transportation scenarios for over 350 of the radionuclides listed, yet individual exempt concentration and quantity values are assigned each radionuclide. DOT and NRC appear to be assuming, without technical support for transportation scenarios, that exempting radionuclides poses no risk to the public. DOT describes calculations done for 20 of the 382 radionuclides listed which come within a couple of orders of magnitude to the numbers proposed in the European Union (Euratom 96/29) for recycling radioactive waste into everyday consumer goods, which lead the department to conclude that all the radioactive recycling numbers can be used for transportation exemptions. For the minority of radionuclides whose exempt values decrease lower than the existing 70 bq/gm, we could accept reducing the amount of material that would be exempt from regulation. However, this does not justify increasing the exempt levels for the majority of radionuclides in the Exempt Concentration Table and accepting the Exempt Consignment Table. The exempt levels in the new tables dont appear to reflect the longevity in the environment and hazard to living creatures. The new regulations (TS-R-1) are being adopted to relax protections and let more radioactive waste out into commerce unregulated. We ask that DOT and NRC remove the Exemption Tables and redefinition of radioactive materials to help prevent more and more radioactive waste from being deregulatedtreated as if not radioactiveand deliberately dispersed into commercial items we come into contact with routinely. We also ask that NRC reject the proposal to allow plutonium to be shipped in single shelled containers, when double shells have been required for 30 years. Thousands of plutonium shipments are projected to go to the WIPP dump in New Mexico. The original WIPP shipping containers, TRUPACT-I were rejected because they only had single containment. Current and proposed WIPP containers have double containment. Reducing the required containment on plutonium shipments increases public exposure risk and the release risk from containers. The Environmental Evaluation Group at WIPP has documented that double containers are significantly safer than single. We oppose any weakening or indefensible substitutions in cask design requirements. We ask NRC to reject the provisions that would allow changes to be made to irradiated fuel casks, dual purpose-storage and transport casks, without notifying or getting permission from NRC. Some groups opposed this provision when it was being adopted for storage casks (into Part 72 of the NRC regulations) and many of us continue to oppose it for the transport aspect of the dual purpose cask regulations. The public has a right to know if design changes are being made and NRC should evaluate those changes. The listed organizations and individuals oppose the adoption of new transport regulations that reduce the protection to the public from transporting nuclear wastes. Diane DArrigo, Nuclear Information and Resource Service 1424 16th Street NW Suite 404 Washington, DC 20036 202 328-0002 ext 16 dianed@nirs.org www.nirs.org ***************************************************************** 20 New Body Urged to Manage Nuclear Waste 'Legacy' Scotsman.com Press Association Wed 24 Jul 2002 /By John Deane, Chief Political Correspondent, PA News/ The Government should set up a new body to manage Britain?s nuclear waste ?legacy? as soon as possible, an influential Commons committee urged today. The trade and industry committee welcomed Government plans to establish a Liabilities Management Authority, taking over responsibility for the management of civil sector nuclear liabilities such as waste, plant and machinery from BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels plc) and UKAEA (the UK Atomic Energy Authority). It said the plan should provide a ?focused, long-term? clean-up programme and greater transparency in the way in which the estimated Ł48 billion problem is to be tackled. But the cross-party committee, chaired by Labour MP Martin O?Neill, called for the new arrangements to be put in place quickly. In a report, the MPs said: ?It is essential that the legislation necessary to create the Authority be introduced without delay, so that strategic, long-term planning for dealing with the problems associated with the civil nuclear legacy can be put in place as soon as possible.? The Government, the committee added, should underwrite the new Authority. ?It is essential that the Government ensure its contribution is sufficient to enable the LMA?s objectives to be met, and to make good any shortfall created in the event that the LMA?s commercial operations fail to deliver an operating surplus.? ©2002 scotsman.com | contact ***************************************************************** 21 Judge in Boise to rule soon on nuclear waste *07-23-2002* ? Accelerating cleanup at the INEEL ? Snake River Alliance *The problem * Millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste are stored in Idaho, Washington and South Carolina. *The solution* The Department of Energy wants to be able to reclassify the waste and reduce the cost of dealing with it. Environmentalists and the state of Idaho say that?s a bad idea. Rocky Barker The Idaho Statesman The fate of millions of gallons of liquid nuclear waste in Idaho, Washington and South Carolina may be decided in a federal court in Boise within a week. The federal government asked U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill on Monday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and Indian tribes who said the Department of Energy wants to leave the waste in underground tanks. Winmill said he will decide the case within a week. The Natural Resources Defense Council and others said agency rules that allow the waste to be reclassified to a lower standard of storage violate the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Federal lawyers said no decision on lowering the standards had been made, so the issue is not ripe for a lawsuit. ?This claim is premature, because it is not a final action,? said Barry Weiner, an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. But if the suit is dismissed, DOE officials will have the authority to treat the waste and leave it where it is instead of eventually sending it to a national waste dump in Nevada. Federal officials are spending billions of dollars based on the assumption that much of this waste will stay where it is. ?There are decisions being made at Hanford today, already, based on this guidance,? said David Mears, an attorney for the state of Washington. That prompted the states of Idaho and Washington to intervene in the lawsuit on the side of environmentalists. The lawsuit grows out of the Department of Energy´s plan for cleaning up radioactive contamination faster and cheaper at facilities like the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington. The Bush Administration hopes to cut nationwide cleanup costs by $100 billion and reduce the time the cleanup would take. Critics such as Idaho´s Snake River Alliance worry that the agency really wants to keep the waste on its 114 sites nationwide, where nuclear material was left from s the production of nuclear weapons during the Cold War. INEEL has 900,000 gallons of highly radioactive liquid waste in underground tanks above the Snake River Plain Aquifer. The aquifer supplies water to much of southern Idaho and drains into the Snake River. An additional 4,000 cubic meters of dry acidic granules of treated waste is stored in concrete vaults on the site. But the larger problem is at Hanford, where 53 million gallons of similar waste is stored in tanks that have leaked into the groundwater and the Columbia River. At the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the tanks lie within the groundwater aquifer. ?They want to call it something else and leave it in the ground above the Snake River Aquifer,? said Gary Richardson, the Snake River Alliance´s executive director. Energy officials deny they plan to leave waste in the ground. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said a week ago at an appearance at INEEL that he wanted to work with the Environmental Protection Agency and the state on a new agreement that will get the waste handled sooner at a lower cost. ?A huge percentage of the costs were maintenance costs,? he said. Under the current agreement negotiated by former Gov. Phil Batt, the Energy Department is required to get all of the liquids out of the tanks by 2012. But by its own admission, the agency has no plan yet to meet that deadline and nowhere to send the waste. The granular high level waste is supposed to be prepared for removal by 2035 under the agreement. But the agency has dropped plans to build a plant that turns it into glass and is now looking at other alternatives. Batt´s agreement contains a provision allowing the two parties to renegotiate the final fate of this waste. Already the Energy Department has filled tanks in South Carolina with grout to see if it can stabilize the liquids. Critics said the agency´s record of delays and disappointments in its cleanup program nationwide shows it can´t be trusted. ?There has been a pattern of contamination and spills,? said attorney Dan Israel, representing the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, whose Fort Hall Indian Reservation abuts INEEL. To offer story ideas or comments, contact Rocky Barker rbarker@idahostatesman.com or 377-6484 Edition Date: 07-23-2002 ***************************************************************** 22 Q&A about the nuclear waste case *What is the case about?* The Natural Resources Defense Council, the Snake River Alliance, the Confederated Yakama Tribes and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes say a Department of Energy rule that gives its managers discretion to reclassify highly radioactive nuclear waste violates the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. *What is high level waste?* High-level radioactive waste is the highly radioactive material produced as a byproduct of the reactions that occur inside nuclear reactors. High-level waste takes one of two forms, spent fuel and waste material remaining after spent fuel is reprocessed. The waste in this case is the material left after reprocessing. *What´s at INEEL and how did it get there?* From 1953 until 1992, INEEL reprocessed a variety of spent nuclear fuels. The waste from these activities was converted into a solid, high-level waste form known as calcine. More than 4,000 cubic meters of calcine are stored in sets of stainless steel bins encased in concrete vaults. Another 900,000 gallons of highly radioactive liquid waste is held in 11 underground tanks. *Why is this a problem?* The waste is located above the Snake River Plain Aquifer, the water source for most of southern Idaho that drains into the Snake River. Even though the waste would be diluted by the trillions of gallons of water in the aquifer, Idaho officials worry it could taint the state for centuries. *What´s next?* U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill will rule on the motion to dismiss within a week. Edition Date: 07-23-2002 http://www.idahostatesman.com ***************************************************************** 23 Plan to reclassify radioactive waste opposed* Tuesday, July 23, 2002 Environment Associated Press BOISE _ Attorneys for two environmental groups urged a federal judge on Monday to reject an Energy Department plan to reclassify rather than remove highly radioactive waste in Idaho, Washington and South Carolina. "They want to call it something else and leave it in the ground above the Snake River aquifer," Snake River Alliance Director Gary Richardson said. He said the Energy Department plan violates federal law and urged U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill to reject it. But the federal government said the judge should dismiss the claim on grounds that classification of radioactive material is solely within its purview. Government lawyers have repeatedly argued that the agency is following procedures used for years and in fact has made no decisions yet that would be subject to court review. Winmill took the government's request under advisement after a two-hour hearing. The environmental groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, sued last March after the Energy Department announced its plans for the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Idaho and Washington officials and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of eastern Idaho petitioned the court last week to consider their objections to the federal plan. At Hanford, more than 53 million gallons of highly radioactive waste are stored in 177 underground tanks, some of which have leaked over the years, sending more than 1 million gallons into the soil, contaminating groundwater and threatening the Columbia River. Idaho has also gone to court in a separate case over the Energy Department's attempt to exclude buried material from the 1995 mandate that all plutonium-contaminated waste be removed from that state's lab by 2019. The environmental groups and Yakamas focused on buried tanks that once held millions of gallons of liquid acid used to reprocess spent nuclear fuel rods. Much of that waste has been pumped from the tanks and processed, but the tanks still contain a residual sludge. About 800,000 gallons of sludge remain in 10 tanks at the Idaho lab. The Energy Department plans to remove all but about 1,000 gallons in each tank, officials said, and then fill and cap the remaining waste in the tanks with cement. Similar processes are planned for Washington and South Carolina. That threatens the Snake River aquifer in Idaho, the Columbia River in Washington and the groundwater in South Carolina, critics claimed. The government argues that the plan is environmentally sound and legal. ***************************************************************** 24 A new nuclear legacy?* deseretnews.com Opinion Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Hard on the heels of voting to bequeath Utahns a future of nuclear waste transported to Yucca Mountain, are our Republican leaders poised to vote for a far more deadly and familiar nuclear legacy for us? Maybe. Congress has included $15.5 million in the tentative 2003 budget to study developing a nuclear-tipped "bunker buster" bomb, the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP). The RNEP is a "lower yield" nuclear weapon and considered more "usable" than larger strategic nuclear warheads. Why is this important to Utahns? Because development of the RNEP will require nuclear testing, upwind at the Nevada Test Site. A terrifying prospect for all who are familiar with Utah's downwinders. A House amendment to delete funding for the RNEP was defeated, with Rep. Hansen voting to keep RNEP funding, Rep. Matheson voting to delete it. (Rep. Cannon was absent.) The U.S. House of Representatives will have another opportunity to eliminate RNEP funding next week as it takes up the Energy and Water Appropriations bill the week of July 22. Our congressmen need to hear now from their constituents that funding the RNEP lowers the "threshold" for using nuclear weapons and could eventually lead to a new generation of downwinders. *Winston C. Weeks * Citizens Education Project Salt Lake City © 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 25 Bush signs bill for Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump President Bush signed into law a bill to store radioactive waste in Yucca Mountain, Nevada, shown here. /File photo, TheNewsMexico.com/ DPA - 7/24/2002 WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday signed into law a bill to entomb the nation's radioactive waste deep inside a desert mountain 140 kilometers northwest of Las Vegas. Nevada legislators and environmentalists opposed using Yucca Mountain as a nuclear dump site, but Congress gave the measure final approval earlier this month. The Bush administration has been a strong supporter of using Yucca Mountain, and claims it is a safe site for an estimated 77,000 tons of civilian and military radioactive waste that will remain dangerous for tens of thousands of years. "Nuclear waste is now stored in 131 temporary locations in 31 states," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said in a statement. "The successful completion of the Yucca Mountain project will ensure our nation has a safe and secure underground facility that will store nuclear waste in a manner that protects our environment and our citizens." Opponents argue that Yucca Mountain is located in an earthquake- prone area and that nuclear waste could eventually leech into the groundwater through porous volcanic rock. They also fear that road and rail transports there could spill dangerous waste in accidents or become terrorist targets. The site is due to become the nation's central storage depot for nuclear waste from 2010, after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission grants it a license, which it is expected to do. The bulk of the waste are uranium fuel rods from power plants - metal tubes filled with uranium pellets that can potentially eat through flesh and cause cancer and birth defects. Nuclear power plants have been storing used-up fuel rods in large water tanks, but with 40,000 tons of waste now piled up, operators say they are running out of space. Nuclear power meets about 20 percent of U.S. electricity needs. With 2,000 tons of waste produced per year, the Yucca Mountain site would be full by 2034, the Washington Post has reported. © Copyright 2002 DPA ***************************************************************** 26 DOE spars with tribes, states over waste storage This story was published Tue, Jul 23, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer BOISE -- The Department of Energy believes it is premature to have a legal fight over whether it can leave some solid wastes in its radioactive waste tanks at Hanford, Idaho Falls and Savannah River. But two environmental groups, two tribes and two states believe the dispute should be tackled now. The parties argued the legal pros and cons of the dispute Monday in U.S. District Court in Boise. Judge B. Lynn Winmill said he will take at least two weeks before ruling on DOE's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. DOE has been considering whether it can or should permanently leave some solid wastes in its tanks at Hanford, Savannah River, S.C., and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The agency is preparing a nationwide master plan to speed up nuclear cleanup. Leaving some solids -- possibly encased in cement -- in the tanks after the liquids are pumped out is being looked at as a way to speed up the work and reduce costs. Hanford has 53 million gallons of highly radioactive wastes in 177 underground tanks. Savannah River has 34 million gallons in 51 tanks, of which two have been closed with some solids cemented inside them. INEEL has 900,000 gallons in 11 tanks. Last spring, the Yakama Indian Nation, the Idaho-based Snake River Alliance and the Washington, D.C.-based Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit in federal court that contended leaving solid wastes in the tanks is illegal. DOE would have to reclassify wastes to allow the solid material to remain in the tanks. The environmental groups and Yakama Nation argue that would allow DOE to simply claim cleanup was done with a mere name change while leaving solid wastes in the tanks that threaten nearby rivers. On Monday, Winmill allowed the Shoshone-Bannock tribe to join the lawsuit. The Shoshone-Bannock reservation is about 40 miles downstream on the Snake River from INEEL. Winmill also allowed Washington and Idaho to have standing in the lawsuits as "friends of the court." That means the states can make legal arguments in the case. U.S. Department of Justice attorney Barry Weiner, representing DOE, argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because DOE has not yet unveiled specific proposals. He argued the groups could file suit if DOE makes a specific proposal. But attorney Geoffrey Fettus, representing the Natural Resources Defense Council, argued any delays in addressing the issue would give DOE too much authority to set up plans to leave wastes that would be difficult to change later. "It would be like trying to turn aside a supertanker," he said. Attorneys for Washington and Idaho agreed with Fettus. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 27 Bush signs bill approving Yucca Mountain dump This story was published Wed, Jul 24, 2002 By The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- President Bush formally approved Nevada's Yucca Mountain as the nation's high-level nuclear waste dump Tuesday, ending a 20-year political fight and shifting the battle to the courts. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer called Bush's signature on Yucca Mountain legislation "an important step forward on the way to a comprehensive policy for dealing with our nation's nuclear waste." Yet Bush signed the measure with no fanfare. Reporters were not allowed to witness the bill-signing, and no one from Nevada's congressional delegation was invited. Nevada officials, who fought bitterly against the dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, acknowledged they had lost a round but pledged to block it through lawsuits. The state has five pending. "Our best chance in defeating Yucca Mountain is in the federal courts, where impartial judges will hear the factual and scientific arguments as to why Yucca Mountain is not a safe place to store this nation's high-level nuclear waste," said Kenny Guinn, Nevada's Republican governor. Four lawmakers who are strong backers of the project were present at the signing: House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican from the state with more nuclear reactors than any other; Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho; Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La.; and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. Bush hopes the legislation will pave the way for more nuclear energy production. It was on his wish list when the White House released its long-term national energy strategy last year, and Bush endorsed the project in February. The Energy Department still needs a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a process that could take five years. Government planners have set a 2010 opening date, but even some Yucca Mountain supporters admit that may be too optimistic. The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, has said the target cannot be met. Nevada's senators tried for months to rally their colleagues against the Yucca dump. They hoped concerns over thousands of waste shipments crossing 43 states would sway some lawmakers. The Bush administration and other Yucca site supporters said leaving radioactive garbage at 131 power plants and defense sites in 39 states would pose an even greater risk than hauling it to Nevada, adding that waste has been transported for years without radiation releases. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 28 President signs Yucca Mountain resolution into law Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal State officials say now the legal battle begins By TONY BATT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Tuesday put the finishing touch on Yucca Mountain's designation for nuclear waste burial. Bush signed into law the resolution that overturns Nevada's veto and finalizes the Yucca site for a waste repository. The signing occurred at a short ceremony open only to a handful of allies who helped pass the bill through Congress. The bill-signing marked the official end of Nevada's legislative fight, which effectively was over when the Senate voted 60-39 on July 9 for the Nevada repository. State officials said it also marked a beginning of the state's stepped up legal efforts against the Yucca Mountain Project. Gov. Kenny Guinn issued a statement saying the president's signing did little more than end the political process on Yucca Mountain. "I have always believed that our best chance in defeating Yucca Mountain is in the federal courts, where impartial judges will hear the factual and scientific arguments as to why Yucca Mountain is not a safe place to store this nation's high-level nuclear waste," Guinn said. Bush signed the legislation at the White House in a 10-15 minute morning event closed to reporters. White House officials said the vast majority of bills signed by the president are not open to the public because of staffing required for public events. Attendees included Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa and a handful of Republicans who played key roles in steering the legislation through Congress. Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho and Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, were among those present. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, were invited but it could not be learned whether they attended. The attending officials received blue pens Bush used to sign the legislation. The signing occurred almost 27 months to the day after President Clinton, on April 25, 2000, vetoed a bill to speed nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain. "The president was pleased today to sign (the Yucca Mountain legislation)," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "It will allow us, after a decade of scientific study, to take the next step in establishing a safe repository in which to store our nation's nuclear waste." Following a recommendation by Abraham, the president approved Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository in February. Two months later, Guinn vetoed the president's decision. The House voted to override Guinn's decision in May and the Senate voted the same way earlier this month. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., scoffed at the claim that the president's decision was based on sound science. "If that's based on sound science, I can high jump eight feet," Reid said. Reid predicted nuclear waste never will be transported to Yucca Mountain. "In fact, if they ever do it, I would be amazed," Reid said. Reid said he is scheduled to receive a briefing next week on Nevada's lawsuits against the project. He has said he would use his senior position on the Senate Appropriations Committees to stall the development of a Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. "We're just going to try to be deliberate; make sure they don't get more money than they need," Reid said. Reid also is chairman of the Senate environment subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will be responsible for licensing the Yucca Mountain Project. Now that the Senate has voted to override Guinn's veto, Reid said he plans to take a more aggressive approach in his oversight of the NRC. "I didn't want to do anything that would cause me to lose any votes, and so I've been very cautious," Reid said. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said he will support Reid's efforts to restrict appropriations bills for the nuclear waste repository. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., described Bush's signing of the Yucca Mountain bill as dereliction of duty. "Rather than being pleased, the president should be ashamed of himself," Berkley said. "Either he is totally disengaged on this issue or he just doesn't get it." Berkley predicted supporters of the nuclear waste repository will attempt to win approval of interim storage at Yucca Mountain. "Mark my words, that is the next step. The storage will be above ground and dangerous," Berkley said. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., declined an interview request, but issued a statement saying he was disappointed with the president's signing. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 29 Bush signs off on Yucca July 24, 2002 [online@rgj.com] RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL What's next: What’s ahead for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada now that President Bush has signed the legislation: 2002: The Energy Department continues to work on unresolved scientific issues as it prepares an application for a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2003: Energy Department completes a detailed transportation plan, working with 43 states on routing and security, and with the NRC on waste canister designs and safeguards. 2003: Courts likely to rule on first of five lawsuits already filed by Nevada challenging the Yucca project. 2004: Energy Department plans to apply for construction permit. Licensing process before the NRC likely to take three to four years. 2007: Construction expected to begin. 2010-2034: Shipments of 3,200 tons of waste a year to arrive at the Yucca site. Initial capacity is 77,000 tons, but with congressional approval it could be expanded to 120,000 tons, to be filled by 2048. 2035 and beyond: Waste site to remain open for 100 to 300 years, after which it would be shut in. Some isotopes in the waste will remain highly radioactive for thousands of years. Source: Energy Department WASHINGTON — With no fanfare, President Bush signed legislation Tuesday designating Yucca Mountain as the nation’s nuclear waste dump, a project under study for more than two decades. The move now allows Energy Department officials to seek a license for the project from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer called the signing “an important step forward on the way to a comprehensive policy for dealing with our nation’s nuclear waste. “It also is a very helpful sign to the scores of states which have nuclear power plants where the waste has been piling up,” Fleischer said. No reporters were allowed to witness the bill-signing. Gov. Kenny Guinn said the signing was a formality that “does little more than end the political process.” “Our best chance in defeating Yucca Mountain is in the federal courts, where impartial judges will hear the factual and scientific arguments as to why Yucca Mountain is not a safe place to store this nation’s high-level nuclear waste,” the Republican governor said. Administration officials announced in February they would move ahead with plans to build the nuclear repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. But Nevada officials continue to fight, knowing it will be at least eight years before nuclear waste starts rolling toward the site. On Monday, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., chairman of the Senate Appropriations’ Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, cut $153 million from the $489 million Bush has requested for the project in next year’s budget. Reid said his goal was to free up money for more pressing issues, not to slow work on the nuclear waste dump. “I think it’s a question of them having too much money to throw around … when we’re cutting education funding, Medicare, Medicaid,” he said. “I think it’s a matter of priorities.” A House-Senate conference committee likely will decide whether to restore the funds. In addition, state officials in Nevada have filed five lawsuits in federal appeals court in the District of Columbia challenging rules issued by the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency relating to Yucca Mountain. The state is a defendant in lawsuits in Nye County, Nev., and federal court in Nevada over the state engineer’s decision to deny water rights to the site. Nevada also filed a petition with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking rule changes to the licensing procedure that will be used to issue a permit to the Energy Department to build the Yucca Mountain repository. State officials asked the NRC to require the Energy Department to prove the site will be safe and that geology, rather than waste containers, will be the main protection against leaking. “Unlike Congress, the NRC is required to examine all the science before it can license this project,” Guinn said in a statement Tuesday. “I have always believed that our best chance in defeating Yucca Mountain is in the federal courts, where impartial judges will hear the factual and scientific arguments as to why Yucca Mountain is not a safe place to store this nation’s high-level nuclear waste.” Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and Joe Egan, the state’s lead attorney on the Yucca Mountain issue, plan a news conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday to denounce the Yucca Mountain project and assure state residents that the fight will continue. Opponents maintain that the Energy Department and project scientists have not answered crucial questions about whether the Yucca site can safely keep radioactivity from leaking into the air or water. “Why are we rushing to judgment on this?” asked Peggy Maze Johnson, executive director of Citizen Alert, a Las Vegas anti-nuclear group. “We should wait for the science to be done.” © Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a [http://www.gannett.com] Newspaper. ***************************************************************** 30 Bush approves nuclear dump BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Tuesday, 23 July, 2002, 22:34 GMT 23:34 UK The row over the facility has gone on for 20 years US President George W Bush has signed a congressional resolution paving the way for the building of a giant nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert. The White House said years of scientific study had provided enough evidence to persuade the president that the site was safe. The successful completion of the Yucca Mountain project will ensure our nation has a safe and secure underground facility Ari Fleischer White House spokesman But the state of Nevada is still opposing the project and is hoping to stop it in the courts. The Bush administration can now apply for an official permit with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to set up the dump in a labyrinth of tunnels dug under the mountain. About 77,000 tonnes of radioactive waste from America's 103 nuclear power plants will be stored at the site for about 10,000 years. Billions spent "Nuclear waste is now stored in 131 temporary locations in 39 states," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said in a statement after the president signed the bill. "The successful completion of the Yucca Mountain project will ensure our nation has a safe and secure underground facility that will store nuclear waste in a manner that protects our environment and our citizens," he added. The US Government has spent nearly 20 years and $7bn studying the site just 145 kilometres (90 miles) north-west of Las Vegas. Safety fears Critics of the plan have raised safety concerns for the estimated 1.4 million people living in the area. They are concerned that radioactive material may leak into surrounding ground, posing health risks. [Nuclear power plant] Waste from 103 nuclear plants will be sent to Nevada They are also worried about the risks involved in transporting nuclear waste over long distances. Nevada's lawmakers have vowed to keep fighting the project. "I have always believed that our best chance in defeating Yucca Mountain is in the federal courts," said Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn. Last February Mr Guinn used his constitutional power to veto Mr Bush's decision to go ahead with the project. But the US Congress in turn used its power to overrule the governor's veto - the House of Representatives approved the project in May. The facility is scheduled to open in 2010 but correspondents say the legal challenges mean the project is unlikely to be completed on time. ***************************************************************** 31 Big Rock applauds president's support of Yucca Mountain bill Traverse City Record-Eagle - News Story -- www.record-eagle.com July 24, 2002 - Earliest Nevada nuclear waste facility could open is 2010, spokesman said By KEITH MATHENY [tcre_keith@yahoo.com] Record-Eagle staff writer CHARLEVOIX - Officials and area residents affiliated with the decommissioning of the Big Rock nuclear power plant applauded President George W. Bush's signing of a bill Tuesday making Yucca Mountain, Nev., the nation's central repository for nuclear waste. "It's an important date in the lives of the people of northern Michigan," said Steward Sandstrom, Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce director and a member of Big Rock's Citizen Advisory Board. "It sets the stage so that in 10 or 12 years, we can have nuclear waste off the shores of Lake Michigan," he said. Bush's endorsement, and earlier Senate and House approval, "reaffirm 20 years and $7 billion worth of research indicating Yucca Mountain is a safe area to store spent nuclear fuel," said Big Rock spokesman Tim Petrosky. The earliest the Nevada facility could open, based on current timetables, is 2010, Petrosky said. Petrosky called the Yucca Mountain approval "a victory for scientific research over political pressure." "The nuclear industry is as interested as anyone in assuring the site is the safest possible site," he said. "Overwhelming research indicates that it is safe. And the research does not stop with this approval." The House and Senate voted earlier this year to entomb thousands of tons of radioactive waste inside Yucca Mountain, in the desert some 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. After 35 years of operation, Big Rock, one of the nation's oldest nuclear power plants, shut down in 1997. Nearly 59 metric tons of nuclear waste are still stored on the facility's grounds. The waste is in the process of being moved to eight concrete-and-steel casks on Big Rock property. Big Rock's storage area is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for 20 years, but is designed to last for up to a century. Because of Big Rock's age, it is "near the front of the queue" for moving its nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, Petrosky said. If all goes well and the repository is ready by 2010 as expected, Big Rock would begin to move its waste to Yucca Mountain in that year, concluding in 2011, he said. The Big Rock site would then be completely reverted to a green field by 2012, he said. Charlevoix County Commissioner Don Smith, chairman of the Big Rock Citizen Advisory Board, praised Congress and the president. "It's good for Charlevoix County, and it's good for the state of Michigan," he said. "I know there are still some hurdles before it gets open. But as long as we are moving forward, that's great news." Among the hurdles is expected continued opposition from Nevada officials. Officials filed a formal protest that forced Congress to make a final decision. The House approved it in May; the Senate this month. Nevada has five lawsuits pending against the project. Sandstrom said the protests by Nevada officials, while perhaps understandable, are unfounded. "The site is the best one - probably in the world, and certainly in the United States," he said. "I've seen the mountain itself; I've talked to the scientists who have studied it. And I would challenge any Nevadan to find a better place." The Bush administration and other Yucca site supporters said leaving the radioactive garbage at 131 sites in 39 states would pose an even greater risk than hauling it to Nevada. Environmentalists dubbed the planned waste shipments "mobile Chernobyl," a reference to the nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union. They see a disaster in the making as the radioactive cargo moves past major cities, over bridges and through tunnels on its way to Nevada. Petrosky notes that over the past 30 years, more than 3,000 shipments of nuclear waste have been made throughout the country, most involving the military. Though there have been accidents, there has never been a release of radiation, he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report [http://www.record-eagle.com] . All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 32 Editorial: Whatever happened to dignity? Las Vegas SUN Today: July 24, 2002 at 8:47:57 PDT There was no suspense Tuesday as President Bush signed into law a bill creating a nuclear waste dump in Nevada. It was Bush who in February recommended that Congress approve his plan to send nuclear waste here. It was unknown, however, what Bush would say as he formally signed off on Yucca Mountain. What Bush did Tuesday, and more importantly what he didn't do, says a lot. There was no formal event on the White House lawn, no television cameras to record the event. The White House didn't even allow reporters to observe the bill signing, which was attended by four GOP lawmakers who backed the legislation, a group that included House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Only a written statement was issued later in which a White House spokesman said Bush was "pleased" by Congress' approval of Yucca Mountain. The reason for the evasiveness and low profile can be traced to the White House not wanting newspaper photos or television images of the event appearing in Nevada. The White House wasn't about to create a permanent reminder for Nevadans of the man who lied to this state's residents when he said during the 2000 presidential campaign that a Yucca Mountain decision would be based on science and not on politics. Photos of Bush, as he signed into law the legislation sending 77,000 tons of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, would have been political poison in Nevada. An additional reason for not having a public bill signing is that it was the nuclear power industry that inspired the Republican-led legislation. The last thing Bush wants right now, in light of the current business scandals and the public's view that the GOP is too closely tied to big corporate inter ests, is more evidence that the White House is joined at the hip with another influential industry. Bush's actions Tuesday (or lack of them) are reminiscent of the single time he visited Nevada in 2000. Instead of fielding reporters' questions about Yucca Mountain, Bush told them to read his statement about nuclear waste storage. It was a vague message that nonetheless was touted by Nevada Republican leaders as proof that he would listen to Nevada's concerns. The statement allowed him to dodge specific questions about his real thoughts on Yucca Mountain, a tactic that enabled him to carry Nevada, which was one of a handful of swing states that decided the presidential election. And to think we were told by Bush that his election would restore honor and dignity to the White House. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 33 State to announce new Yucca offensive Las Vegas SUN Today: July 24, 2002 at 11:07:06 PDT By Cy Ryan and Mary Manning CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa today was expected to announce a renewed legal offensive against a proposed nuclear waste repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas Del Papa said her office and private attorneys hired by the state are weighing additional lawsuits to block the U.S. Energy Department from going forward with the dump. "We're looking at a big constitutional challenge," said Deputy Attorney General Marta Adams, who is coordinating the state's legal challenges against Yucca Mountain. "What form that takes is still being debated." She refused to provide more details, though she said all of the environmental challenges have been made in existing lawsuits. The state already has seven legal challenges to the proposed repository: five focusing in environmental issues in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., one involving water rights in the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, and another on water in state District Court in Tonopah. President Bush on Tuesday signed congressional action that designates Yucca Mountain as the site to permanently dump 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste from commercial reactors and defense uses. The Energy Department is now preparing a licensing request for the repository, which will be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The license application is expected to be filed by the end of 2004, and if all goes according to the Energy Department's plan, Yucca Mountain could accept waste as soon as 2010. Despite Nevada's recent political loss in Congress, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa says it is not time to roll over and bargain for benefits with the federal government over Yucca Mountain. "It is untimely and unbecoming to suggest that Nevadans knuckle under and then negotiate from a position of weakness, as has been suggested by the shortsighted," she said in remarks prepared for a press conference today. She said that those who want to bargain with the federal government for benefits "would scarcely hesitate to hand Nevada's children a promissory note in the form of a lethal container farm on a seismic ridge." "We remain convinced that the fight is winnable," she said. "It is far too soon for the public to be discouraged." Any one of the lawsuits could halt the project, she said. Adams said she expects the current lawsuits to move through the courts faster now that Congress has acted. Del Papa was to be accompanied this morning by Washington attorney Joe Egan, whose firm has been hired for $2.5 million for three years. Egan, also a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained nuclear engineer, said Tuesday the state has a 70 percent chance of stopping the repository. There are three ways to stop the dump, Egan said: in court, at the licensing hearing before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or with a budget-busting price tag. "There's a 70 percent (chance) to kill Yucca Mountain," attorney Joe Egan said today. One of the first steps state officials plan to do is analyze the cost of the project. "If Yucca Mountain is really a $300 billion project, instead of a $50 billion one, then elected officials will look at alternatives," Egan said. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 34 Do Rural Votes Count More in Utah? The Salt Lake Tribune -- Wednesday, July 24, 2002 BY JUDY FAHYS The constitutional question of whether rural Utah voters have a tyranny over urban ones is now in the hands of the state Supreme Court But first the five justices must decide whether the time is right to take a look at what happened to the Radioactive Waste Restrictions Act, the law-by-citizens initiative that was bound for this fall's ballot until it was derailed by opponents who mounted a door-to-door, signature-removal drive in rural counties. Last week, the initiative's backers asked the court for an emergency review of the state's citizen initiative law. First, however, the court must decide whether it has jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit, and if so, whether it should put the the proposed waste act on the Nov. 5 ballot. "It's an issue that's time has come," said Deno G. Himonas, an attorney for waste act proponents, during oral arguments Tuesday. The Radioactive Waste Restrictions Act would ban nuclear waste more potent than that already allowed in Utah. It also would raise taxes on the low-radioactivity waste that now is permitted and direct a portion of tax revenues from hot waste to public school and homeless programs. Its backers got more than enough signatures on a petition to get the matter on the November ballot. But Utahns Against Unfair Taxes -- backed by Envirocare of Utah, the Tooele County landfill that would be most affected by the act -- sent people to knock on the doors of rural-county Utahns who had signed the petitions and asked them to demand to have their names removed. Last week, backers of the proposed waste act filed a lawsuit attacking the state's ballot initiative process, and both sides appeared Tuesday to make oral arguments. As with many cases that land on the justices' desks, the discussion on this one swung back and forth between legal technicalities and questions about fairness and the proper role of government. Do rural Utahns get a "bigger" vote than voters registered in the state's biggest communities because of the tough county-by-county signature requirement in Utah's law? Did lawmakers undermine citizen initiatives by setting the deadline for opponents to get signatures removed a month after the deadline for signature gathering? Justices must decide by Tuesday whether they have the jurisdiction to handle the case. If they decide they do, they then must rule on whether to order state elections officials to put the citizen initiative onto the statewide ballot. The stage was set for the lawsuit earlier this month. Elections officials certified July 3 that 95,975 registered voters signed petitions saying they wanted the waste law on the ballot -- nearly 20,000 more than the total required statewide. But they were barred from putting the measure on the Nov. 5 ballot because the initiative did not have at least one-tenth as many signatures as the number of voters who cast ballots in 20 or more of Utah's 29 counties. Proponents thought they had enough signatures in 28 counties, but then watched thousands of those signatures evaporate during the opponents' monthlong, door-to-door campaign urging voters to get their signatures removed. In the end, the measure had sufficient signatures only in 14 counties, missing its mark by 147 votes in Beaver, Daggett, Garfield, Kane, Piute and Wayne counties. In effect, proponents said, those 147 rural voters, or one fifteen-thousandth of the state, decided the issue for all of Utah. Asst. Attorney General Thom Roberts, arguing for the state Elections Office, said there was no reason for justices to strike down the state's initiative procedures because lawmakers had simply carried out their administrative responsibilities and had not been unfair in the process. An attorney for opponents of the Radioactive Waste Restrictions Act, including a half-dozen state legislators, added that the case should instead go to state court or the court of public opinion, the 2004 statewide election, where the signatures collected this year could be used again to hoist the initiative onto the ballot. The initiative's backers countered that neither more facts nor more time would resolve the fundamental issue that Utah's initiative law prevents people from enjoying their right of "one man, one vote." Lisa Watts Baskin, drafter of the waste law, suggested the justices had a responsibility to excise the lopsided provisions in Utah's law. Otherwise, she said, lawmakers will have succeeded in lashing back at the exasperated voters who resorted to direct lawmaking, the initiative process provided by the Utah Constitution, because lawmakers were unwilling to address an important public concern. fahys@sltrib.com © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune ***************************************************************** 35 Yucca Mountain Bill Gets Bush's OK The Salt Lake Tribune -- Wednesday, July 24, 2002 BY SCOTT LINDLAW THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON -- President Bush formally approved Nevada's Yucca Mountain as the nation's high-level nuclear waste dump on Tuesday, ending a 20-year political fight and shifting the battle to the courts. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer called Bush's signature on Yucca Mountain legislation "an important step forward on the way to a comprehensive policy for dealing with our nation's nuclear waste." Yet Bush signed the measure with no fanfare. Reporters were not allowed to witness the bill-signing and no one from Nevada's congressional delegation was invited. Nevada officials, who fought bitterly against the dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, acknowledged they had lost a round, but pledged to block it through lawsuits. The state has five pending. "Our best chance in defeating Yucca Mountain is in the federal courts, where impartial judges will hear the factual and scientific arguments as to why Yucca Mountain is not a safe place to store this nation's high-level nuclear waste," said Kenny Guinn, Nevada's Republican governor. Four lawmakers, all strong backers of the project, attended the signing: House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican from the state with more nuclear reactors than any other; Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho; Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La.; and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. Bush hopes the move will pave the way for more nuclear energy production. It was included in the White House's long-term national energy strategy, released last year, and Bush endorsed the project in February. The Energy Department still needs a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which could take five years. Government planners have set a 2010 opening date, but even some Yucca Mountain supporters acknowledge that may be too optimistic. The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, has said the target cannot be met. Nevada's senators tried for months to rally their colleagues against the Yucca dump, hoping concerns about thousands of waste shipments crossing 43 states would sway some lawmakers. One in three Americans lives within five miles of a nuclear waste transport route, and one in seven lives within a mile, the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group said Tuesday. "The truth is, this doesn't make American safer, it creates a whole new level of risk," said EWG President Ken Cook. "It's a shame the president lied to the people of Nevada and rushed to pay back the nuclear industry rather than relying on sound science." But Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, a leading proponent of the dump, insisted Congress was guided by "sound science." "After more than $4 billion and 24 years of scientific research, it's clear that Yucca Mountain is well-suited and the licensing process should proceed," he said. The Bush administration and other Yucca site supporters said leaving radioactive garbage at 131 power plants and defense sites in 39 states would pose an even greater risk than hauling it to Nevada, saying waste has been transported for years without radiation releases. © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune ***************************************************************** 36 Utah: n-waste tax Initiative law unconstitutional? [deseretnews.com] Tuesday, July 23, 2002 By Donna Kemp Spangler Deseret News staff writer The Utah Supreme Court will now decide whether Utahns this fall will vote on a proposal to raise taxes on low-level radioactive waste coming to Utah. And the fate of waste giant Envirocare of Utah — the only such waste dump in the state — hangs in the balance. On Tuesday, the high court heard arguments from backers of the failed petition drive that Utah's citizen initiative process is unconstitutional under the "one man, one vote" concept because it gives sparsely populated rural areas a greater voice than the populous urban areas of the state in terms of the number of signatures required to place a measure before voters. When the petition drive failed to get the required signatures in 20 of 29 counties, backers of the "Radioactive Waste Restrictions Act" took their case directly to the Utah Supreme Court in hopes the justices would strike down the 20-county provision in the current law and thereby allow the issue to go forward on the November ballot. Salt Lake advertising executive Mickey Gallivan, lobbyist Frank Pignanelli and Phyllis Sorensen, former president of the Utah Education Association, are the chief sponsors of the petition. The initiative seeks to impose a range of taxes on low-level radioactive waste only stored at Envirocare — from $20 per cubic foot to $150 per cubic foot. The taxes, which Envirocare says would put it out of business, would raise money for public schools and homeless programs. The lieutenant governor's office ruled July 5 that despite collecting over 95,000 signatures — well above the minimum threshold of about 77,000 — the initiative failed to make it on November's ballot because there was not enough registered voters who signed the petition in at least 20 of the 29 counties. A mere 147 people in six rural counties deprived the majority of Utahns of the right to vote, attorneys for the initiative supporters argued. The justices seemed a bit reluctant to take on the matter. "This might not be the right time," said Justice William Thorne, an appeals court judge filling in for an absent justice. The justices questioned why the matter was being brought to the Supreme Court on an expedited motion when there are other legal remedies available, including gathering the handful of additional signatures to have the matter placed on the 2004 ballot. "There's an incentive for the other side to delay the process," said Deno Himonas, an attorney representing organizers of the petition drive. "Who knows what will happen two years from now." The justices promised to decide by July 30 whether they have jurisdiction to make a definitive ruling at this point. An opposition group called Utahns Against Unfair Taxes, as well as five state lawmakers, made an argument that legislation by petition is not a constitutional right. And they said that state lawmakers knew exactly what they were doing when they required initiative support in at least 20 counties because they did not want the urban populated Wasatch Front to dictate policy for the entire state. If an initiative was to be placed on a statewide ballot, then it would need statewide support. Initiative sponsors focused their efforts in the large metropolitan areas of Utah, ignoring to some extent less-populated rural counties, even though the initiative would have the most impact in Tooele County where Envirocare's facility is located, opponents argued. Justice Leonard Russon questioned whether the multi-county requirement puts an undue burden on the initiative process and whether it is fair. "Why should there be a restriction at all," he said, adding that it was the Legislature's responsibility to make the initiative process open "so the voice of the people can be heard." But opponents, primarily Envirocare, lawmakers and business leaders, said the state's initiative law is fair. "The multiple county requirement for initiatives, which has been a fixture of the Utah Code since 1917, is an appropriate and constitutional method chosen by the Legislature to ensure that an initiative has statewide support," argued David Jordan, who represents Utahns Against Unfair Taxes and lawmakers who have asked to intervene on the court's behalf. In responses to justices' questions, Jordan said lawmakers have broad discretion in how they define the initiative process. To throw out the multi-county requirement is to throw out 80 years of legislative intent, he said. Furthermore, the constitutionality of the issue should be decided in a state district court first, not the Supreme Court, attorneys say. Jordan argued that the initiative can't be placed on November's ballot because it would require the Legislature to amend the current law. "Even if the court were to determine the multiple county requirement to be unconstitutional, the proper legal remedy is to strike down the entire initiative law and send the Legislature back to the drawing board," Jordan said. "Any pending initiatives would necessarily be null and void under such a result." E-mail: [donna@desnews.com] © 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 37 Yucky mountain waste plan [http://www.sfgate.com] DAVID LAZARUS [dlazarus@sfchronicle.com] Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Coming soon to a road or railway near you: tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste making its way through California towns to a new national dumping ground. President Bush gave his approval Tuesday to establishing a federal repository for 77,000 tons of nuclear waste at a desolate site called Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert. The decision has been long awaited by San Francisco's Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which has thousands of spent fuel rods piling up at its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant and quietly glowing at its decommissioned Humboldt Bay facility. "This is something we've supported from the start," said Jeff Lewis, a spokesman for the utility. But anti-nuclear activists, environmentalists and even some scientists say that Yucca Mountain is a disaster in the making. They worry especially about shipping nuclear waste from 131 nuclear power plants and defense facilities in 39 states to a central location 90 miles from Las Vegas. "People should be extremely nervous about this," said Rochelle Becker, a spokeswoman for the anti-nuclear group Mothers for Peace in San Luis Obispo, home of the Diablo Canyon plant. Yucca Mountain has been in the works for more than 20 years and has already consumed nearly $7 billion in public funds. It's also a project that's being fiercely opposed by Nevada lawmakers -- at least five lawsuits are now pending -- and has drawn scorn from activists who dispute that Yucca Mountain is as safe as officials claim. Mothers for Peace estimates that 7 million Californians live along one of three potential routes the Department of Energy would use to transport more than 300 shipments of PG's Diablo Canyon waste to Yucca Mountain. An Energy Department spokesman declined to comment on where or how the shipments would be made, saying only that the decision would be made in conjunction with other federal agencies and the governor's office. The alternative? Keeping all that radioactive waste on site, atop a hillside overlooking the Central California coast, for decades or even centuries. Worst-case scenario: The waste stays put for the full length of time it takes for radioactive isotopes to decay to safe levels -- about 10,000 years. PG's Lewis said that whether the plant's waste stays where it is or gets shipped elsewhere, he's not concerned. "The technology and security is more than adequate to protect me and my family," he said. Is it? Since Sept. 11, questions have been raised about whether existing storage techniques are sufficient to withstand an impact from a commercial jet or an assault by terrorists. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is drawing up new standards for storage of radioactive materials in light of the attack on the World Trade Center and has ordered Diablo Canyon and other plants to upgrade their security measures by the end of next month. Yet everyone agrees that if terrorists are determined to unleash nuclear waste on U.S. citizens, the easiest way would be to attack trains or trucks moving spent fuel from one place to another. Recent news of an Osama bin Laden sympathizer planning a radioactive "dirty bomb" attack in the United States only underlines the gravity of the situation. Yucca Mountain is scheduled to open for business in 2010 and, if all goes according to plan, would reach capacity by 2036. Nuclear waste would be en route to the facility virtually every single day from somewhere in the country. PG is tentatively scheduled to begin making shipments from Diablo Canyon in 2017, although that date could be postponed indefinitely if something goes wrong. "Nasty 'surprises' occur in all human efforts -- from collapsing bridges, to an exploding space shuttle, to already leaking rad-waste sites, to the ruination of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant," Berkeley physicist John Gofman has written. "It is hardly far-fetched to consider that the adverse health effects from Yucca Mountain . . . could be 1,000 times greater than predicted," he said." While most scientists have said the underground facility is safe, environmentalists note that it is near an active earthquake fault and sits atop an aquifer. Theoretically, any leak at Yucca Mountain could contaminate drinking water for thousands of Nevada residents. PG's Lewis said current plans call for the utility storing Diablo Canyon's waste on-site until the plant is decommissioned in 2025. If things change at Yucca Mountain, he said, "we would take care of the fuel as long as we need to." Anti-nuclear activists have been forced to choose between the devil they know and the one that represents unimaginable danger. Faced with the uncertainties of transporting nuclear waste through populated areas, they favor on-site storage until a better alternative can be found. In the case of Diablo Canyon, Mothers for Peace is challenging PG's plans for so-called dry cask storage, in which the utility would keep its waste in 138 reinforced containers on a hill above the plant. The group would prefer placing the containers well out of harm's way, in a structure resembling a missile silo. Lewis said the utility will meet whatever storage criteria are set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which to date has had few problems with outdoor containers. There are no easy answers. Even if every nuclear plant in the country shut down today, there are still decades of waste to be safely disposed of somewhere for thousands of years to come. Ariana Silverman, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, said the only safe alternative is to keep waste where it is for at least 100 years and hope that technology one day is able to better address long-term storage and transportation issues. "What we have now isn't the only solution," she said. "American know-how can get us where we need to be." Sooner or later, that is. ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.   Page B - 1 ***************************************************************** 38 Bush signs bill designating Nevada site as nuclear waste dump [english_mail@xinhuanet.com] Xinhuanet 2002-07-24 14:10:04 WASHINGTON, July 23 (Xinhuanet) -- United States President George W. Bush signed a bill on Tuesday to designate Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert as the country's first permanent nuclear waste repository. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the move, after 20 years of scientific study, was "an important step forward" on the way to a comprehensive policy for dealing with the country's nuclear waste. At a private ceremony, Bush signed the bill to designate Yucca Mountain, about 150 kilometers northwest of Las Vegas, as the central nuclear dump. The resolution won final congressional approval earlier this month. The Yucca Mountain project, scheduled to open in 2010, would hold 77,000 tons of radioactive material that the Environmental Protection Agency says must be isolated for 10,000 years. "The successful completion of the Yucca Mountain project will ensure our nation has a safe and secure underground facility that will store nuclear waste in a manner that protects our environmentand our citizens," Fleischer said. The Bush administration and other proponents of the project have said that leaving spent fuel from nuclear plants, which is highly radioactive, scattered at 131 sites in 39 states would posea serious threat to the public. But critics, including Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat from South Dakota, raised questions about environmental protection and transportation safety issues. Nevada filed several lawsuits to try to stop the project beforeand after Bush accepted a recommendation by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham in February to build the facility in the state. Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn, a Republican, pledged on Tuesday to keep fighting the 58-billion-dollar project for the sake of theregion's 1.4 million people. Enditem Copyright © 2000 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 39 UK DEFRA | Environmental Protection UK Strategy for radioactive discharges 2001 - 2020 The UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges 2001-2020 sets out how the UK will implement the OSPAR Radioactive Discharges Strategy. Additional background is set out here. The aim of the OSPAR Strategy is to ensure progressive reduction of concentrations of radioactive substances in the marine environment such that by 2020 they add close to zero to historic levels. The UK Strategy for radioactive discharges 2001 - 2020 is available as follows: + Executive Summary (web page) + Main document (280kb, Adobe Acrobat format) + Appendices (580kb, Adobe Acrobat format) Note: some minor typographical issues in the latter two documents are being addressed and revised versions will be available very shortly; these do not however affect the content. DEFRA Publications Admail 6000 London SW1A 2XX Tel: 08459 556000 Fax: 020 8957 5012 Email: defra@iforcegroup.com [defra@iforcegroup.com] Further information For further information you can contact DEFRA's Radioactive Substances Division at 4/F5 Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE, telephone 020 7944 6257 ***************************************************************** 40 Nuclear waste transport Idaho State Journal 07/23/02 It is becoming more disgusting to most of us citizens to see that there are still a few out there defending the absurd and dangerous plot to transport radiating and explosive high-level nuclear waste through our neighborhoods. They claim there is no more danger than getting an X-ray from the dentist. Most of us now know that there is a danger in a dentist’s X-ray and limit our use of X-rays as much as possible. These defending few (whom we suspect earn very high salaries in the nuclear industry) are pushing their wares at the cost of many citizens’ health and lives. At least 25 percent of us have cancer or cancer-related problems. ... It is becoming more clear each day that radiation from all this nuclear material surrounding us is a large contributor to our cancer problems. Recent studies reveal that our road and rail systems are aged and unsafe. There are massive wrecks every day causing death, injuries and property damage. These wrecks not only occur on rail and road ways, but with ocean vessels and river barges. Our rail, road and water ways are simply too unsafe to transport high-level nuclear waste on them. Foreign and domestic terrorists are going to have a field day. They will blow up these high-level nuclear waste shipments in cities, our rivers, in tunnels and almost any place en route they want to. If nuclear waste is so safe to transport, then it is just as safe to store it where it is created. The best place to store nuclear waste is at the site where it is created. Every citizen must contact their local, state and federal officials, insisting that high-level nuclear waste remain stored at the site where it is created. Don’t take no for an answer. Ask for their high-level nuclear waste restriction plan in writing. Hold them to it. If you don’t take action, your city may be the first to have a nuclear waste disaster. Thousands of tons of high-level nuclear waste will be transported down I-15 and on the railroad through Pocatello for at least the next 40 years, if not forever. Jerry C. Johnson, Spanish Fork, Utah ***************************************************************** 41 Bush clears way for Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal - 7/24/2002 - ENN.com Wednesday, July 24, 2002 By Adam Entous WASHINGTON — President Bush signed legislation in a private ceremony Tuesday to make Yucca Mountain the burial ground for the nation's deadly nuclear waste. The resolution signed by Bush overrides Nevada's veto of the administration's plan to put the country's first permanent nuclear waste repository in the Nevada desert, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the move, after 20 years of scientific study, was "an important step forward on the way to a comprehensive policy for dealing with our nation's nuclear waste." But he conceded that legal challenges lay ahead as Nevada lawmakers and activists, citing safety concerns for the region's 1.4 million people, pledged to keep fighting the $58 billion project any way they can. "I have always believed that our best chance in defeating Yucca Mountain is in the federal courts, where impartial judges will hear the factual and scientific arguments as to why Yucca Mountain is not a safe place to store this nation's high-level nuclear waste," said Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican. Bush signed the resolution in the Oval Office without the fanfare that the White House usually arranges for such events. Aides said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, lawmakers and Teamsters President James Hoffa attended the closed-door ceremony. The resolution won final congressional approval earlier this month. The U.S. Energy Department still must apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to license the project, a process that could take years. "Unlike Congress, the NRC is required to examine all the science," Guinn said. "The nuclear energy industry will no longer be able to use its political power and dollars to push ahead a scientifically flawed project." The Yucca Mountain facility is scheduled to open in 2010 and hold 77,000 tons of radioactive material that the Environmental Protection Agency says must be isolated for 10,000 years. There are about 100 nuclear power plants across the country. Spent fuel from these plants is highly radioactive and is stored at 131 sites in 39 states. Many storage tanks are nearly full, and the government has faced lawsuits for failing to meet a 1998 deadline to open a permanent storage site. "The successful completion of the Yucca Mountain project will ensure our nation has a safe and secure underground facility that will store nuclear waste in a manner that protects our environment and our citizens," Fleischer said. Bush himself offered no comment. Nevada filed federal lawsuits to try to stop the project before and after Bush accepted a recommendation by Abraham in February to build the facility in the state. Opponents, including a number of environmental groups, argue that Yucca Mountain and shipments of nuclear waste to it would provide an inviting target for terrorists in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The highly radioactive material will be shipped by rail or truck, crossing as many as 43 states and 109 cities with populations of at least 100,000 people. The Yucca Mountain site's backers, who include many of the nation's top businesses, contend that it would be safer to have the waste in one place rather than scattered at facilities nationwide. Public opinion polls have shown that most Nevadans are not willing to gamble on nuclear safety so close to home. A poll earlier this year showed that 83 percent of Nevadans oppose the Yucca Mountain site. Nevada will have five electoral votes in the next presidential election, and even Republicans in the state have warned that Bush's decision on Yucca Mountain could undercut his support. Bush carried Nevada in 2000. "President Bush campaigned in Nevada on the promise that he would let sound science determine the fate of the Yucca Mountain site. He signed his name to a document today clearly betraying that promise in exchange for protecting the interests of the powerful energy industry," said Nevada Democratic Sen. Harry Reid. Opening a new front in the state's fight against the dump, a Senate appropriations subcommittee chaired by Reid Monday cut $189 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's nuclear waste disposal program. Copyright 2002, Reuters ***************************************************************** 42 Nuclear-proof bugs may help environment Ananova - The US is funding research into tough bugs which thrive on nuclear waste. Government scientists have mapped the genome of the Pseudomonas microbe which can live in high radiation environments. The Department of Energy is now focused on finding environmental uses for it. A Ł66 million grant has been divided between 26 laboratories as part of the 'Genomes to Life' programme. US energy secretary Spencer Abraham said: "Now that we have sequenced the bug, we are ready to turn it to our own advantage." The research will be carried out by labs in California, Tennessee and New Mexico as well as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts. Harvard and MIT say their joint Ł10 million five-year grant will be used to study three bugs. Prochlorococcus, a simple blue-green algae involved in photosynthesis, Caulobacter which scavenges compounds and Pseudomonas. George Church, of Harvard Medical School and MIT, says the bugs are like tiny machines: "By knowing their genomes, as we do, we have a linear computer tape, or code, that in principle tells us how to assemble the machines. "But we need to study the machines themselves, to move beyond a one-dimensional understanding to a three-dimensional view to learn how we can help the machine to do the right thing for humans and the ecosystem." Story filed: 10:24 Wednesday 24th July 2002 Copyright © 2002 Ananova Ltd ***************************************************************** 43 NRC Names Dr. Michael T. Ryan to Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste NRC: Press Release - 2002 - 84 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-084 July 24, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has appointed Dr. Michael T. Ryan to its Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW). Dr. Ryan is presently an independent consultant in radiological sciences and health physics. He has more than 25 years of experience in radioactive waste management and radiation protection. Dr. Ryan is an adjunct faculty member at the College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina and at the College of Charleston. He also has served on the Board of Directors of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, and as Scientific Vice President for the organization's Radioactive and Mixed Waste Management Program. Dr. Ryan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in radiological health physics from Lowell Technological Institute in 1974, a Master of Science degree in radiological sciences and protection from the University of Lowell in 1976, and his Ph.D. in health physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1982. The ACNW is an advisory group established by the NRC in 1988 to provide the agency with independent technical review and advice on management and disposal of nuclear waste. Members are appointed part-time for four-year terms, and normally serve no more than two terms. Other members of the ACNW are: Dr. B. John Garrick , retired President and Chief Executive Officer of PLG Inc., an international engineering, applied science and management consulting firm. Dr. George M. Hornberger, Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Mr. Milton Levenson, a former Vice President of Bechtel International and an internationally known nuclear engineering consultant. Dr. Raymond G. Wymer, retired Director of the Chemical Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. b ***************************************************************** 44 NRC: NFS project would increase pollutants but pose no impact Elizabethton Star - Online Edition By Kathy Helms-Hughes STAR STAFF [khughes@starhq.com] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an environmental assessment in conjunction with Nuclear Fuel Services Inc.'s plans to turn 33 metric tons of bomb grade uranium into fuel for Tennessee Valley Authority's reactors at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens, Ala. The environmental assessment indicates that the amount of uranium and thorium NFS now sends up its stacks at the Erwin facility will increase about four or five times current levels. The amount of plutonium and americium now vented also will increase. The NRC found, however, that the added emissions of radionuclides and non-radiological contaminants to air, water and soil pose no significant impact to human health or the environment and do not warrant the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement. The public has 30 days from the July 9 publication of the notice in the Federal Register to request a hearing on the license amendment. The person requesting a hearing must describe in detail their interest in the proceeding, how that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding, including why they should be permitted a hearing, and other details specified in the notice. According to the NRC, hydrogen and nitrogen oxide emissions are expected to nearly double with the addition of the proposed Blended Low-Enriched Uranium Complex, or BLEU Complex. This places NFS in a position to exceed the amount of effluents it is licensed to emit under its current air pollution permit, and has prompted the company to seek a modification of its permit for the main stack. The modified permit had not been issued at the time of the environmental assessment. NFS plans to construct and operate three buildings as part of the BLEU Project. Those include an Oxide Conversion Building, Effluent Processing Building, and relocation of downblending operations within the NFS protected area in a BLEU Preparation Facility. The company will need NRC approval for three amendments to its Special Nuclear Material license in order to carry out the project. According to NRC, substantial increases for uranium, thorium and plutonium, attributable to the BLEU Preparation Facility, will be sent to NFS's Waste Water Treatment Facility and discharged to the Nolichucky River. Stormwater runoff from the BLEU Complex will be independent of runoff from the NFS protected area and will be regulated under a separate stormwater discharge permit, which also had not been issued at the time of the report. The primary path for stormwater runoff will be northwest across the BLEU Complex and into culverts that empty into Martin Creek. Uranium, thorium, and plutonium isotopes, and Technetium-99 will be discharged to the sewer. NFS will discharge an estimated 6,300 gallons per day of water to the sewer containing nonradiological constituents such as arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, ammonia nitrate, fluoride, chloride, selenium, silver and pH. Estimates do not include domestic wastewater volume, estimated at a combined total of 10,000 gallons per day. About 6 percent of the proposed 4.5 acre BLEU Complex construction site contains soil with radionuclide concentrations above background levels, or those naturally occurring. During construction of the BLEU Complex, NFS will control the contaminated dust by "wet suppression," or saturating it with water, to ensure that workers do not receive excess exposures. Operation of the BLEU Project is expected to produce radioactive, mixed waste, nonradioactive hazardous and nonradioactive nonhazardous wastes, according to NRC. According to NRC, primary hazards associated with operation of the project facilities include: spill of chemical or radioactive material in the building; a leak in a storage tank or supply piping; release of chemical and/or radioactive effluents due to a malfunction; an upset in the control process leading to release of hazardous or explosive compounds such as hydrogen. The loss of control could include release of radioactive materials and nuclear criticality. The BLEU Project is part of a Department of Energy program to reduce stockpiles of surplus high-enriched uranium through reuse of low-enriched uranium, thus converting weapons grade material to a form unsuitable for nuclear weapons and addressing a nuclear proliferation concern. Because the BLEU Project supports the production of nuclear generated electric power for public use, NFS will have to comply with a more stringent public dose constraint. To address the change, NFS has submitted revised dose assessment methods for NRC review. NFS is located about 20 miles southwest of Johnson City, 50 miles southwest of Asheville, N.C., and 0.5 miles southwest of Erwin City Limits, and lies on the southeastern edge of the Nolichucky River, the source of drinking water for the Town of Jonesborough and the city of Greeneville. Counties within the NFS "Region of Influence," according to the NRC, include: Carter, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington. NFS employs 52 residents from Carter County; 44 from Sullivan; 252 from Unicoi, and 264 from Washington County. Copyright © 1996 - 2002 Elizabethton Newspapers, Inc. Elizabethton, Tennessee 37643 - 423.542.4151 ***************************************************************** 45 Israel Has 400 Atomic And Hydrogen Bombs Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 07:27:25 -0500 (CDT) http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_9.html US Air Force Says Israel Has 400 Atomic And Hydrogen Bombs WorldTribune.com 7-4-2 A United States Air Force report asserts that Israel is building a nuclear naval force meant to respond to any nuclear strike by such countries as Iran or Iraq. It is the first time a U.S. military institution has stated that Israel has produced a hydrogen bomb. The number of purported Israeli nuclear weapons cited in the report is double that of previous assessments. The report, sponsored by the air force's Counterproliferation Center, asserts that the navy can deploy any of what it asserts is Israel's 400 atomic and hydrogen weapons, Middle East Newsline reported. The center is located in the Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. In a report entitled "The Third Temple's Holy of Holies: Israel's Nuclear Weapons," U.S. Army Col. Warner Farr said Israel's nuclear arsenal has grown from an estimated 13 nuclear bombs in 1967 to 400 nuclear and thermonuclear weapons. Farr said Israel's navy could deploy nuclear weapons on the fleet of three German-built Dolphin-class diesel submarines. "Israel will then have a second strike capability with nuclear cruise missiles, and this capability could well change the nuclear arms race in the Middle East," the report, which Farr said is based on unclassified sources, read. "Israeli rhetoric on the new submarines labels them 'national deterrent' assets." The report said these nuclear missiles could have a range of 350 kilometers. Israel would try to base its nuclear naval force near Oman, with which Israel has informal relations, the September 1999 report, which was recently published by the center, said. "The first basing options for the new second-strike force of nuclear missile capable submarines include Oman, an Arab nation with unofficial Israeli relations, located strategically near Iran," the report said. The U.S. Air Force Counterproliferation Center was established in 1998. The center is meant to help prepare air force commanders counter the threat from weapons of mass destruction. The report did not deem Israel's purported nuclear arsenal as a direct threat to the United States. The report said Israel's Defense Ministry has requested from the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon authorization for a retaliatory nuclear strike. Israel could also use Jordanian air space for a nuclear strike on Iran, which the report said could produce a nuclear warhead as early as 2004. Comment Josh Greenberg 7-4-2 I've been telling my American friends for years not to mess with Israel. We are the world's 4th or 5th strongest nuclear power...nice to finally see it in print. That's why today Bush is powerless to influence the policies of the Sharon government. The US continues to give us many billions a year! ... most of which has gone into building our nuclear weapons, fund our West Bank settlements, and pay for our spies and intelligence services! You don't like Israeli policy? Tough sh*t! You funded it all and we did the rest! 400 nuclear warheads...minimum. Remember that. Now, just imagine what our biological weapons scientists have cooked up and have sitting on the shelf, ready to go. Get this: NO ONE is EVER going to force Israel to do anything against its will. Try it world, and find out what happens. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> From: http://www.rense.com/general26/thanks.htm We Really Do Have A Lot To Thank Ariel Sharon For Name Witheld 7-6-2 Jeff - We really do have a LOT to thank Ariel Sharon for, when you think about it. I am thinking of writing a personal thank-you letter to Ariel, I would thank him for helping us average Americans understand where billions of our hard-earned tax dollars have been going to support his genocidal war machine: now we can make specific demands on our elected representatives to cut off this obscene subsidy. I would thank him for showing us once and for all what Zionist Israel is all about, and revealing his demented plan for a 'Greater Israel' ... so that we can protest the use of our fighting men and women to promote Israel's agenda for world domination through its own brand of terrorism and nuclear blackmail. I would thank him for playing out the absolute bankruptcy of his brand of Judaism, and creating a situation in which one can better understand what Hitler was warning about. I would thank him for creating a situation in which "The Holocaust Industry" can now be openly analyzed and discussed for what it has been - the emotional blackmail of America and Europe to extract funds to support Zionist Israel's dark and devious agenda for lo these many decades. I would thank him for providing what may well be the definitive wake-up call to Americans to take back our country from the hands of the Mossad, Zionist extremists, and the Christian far right. I would thank him for setting the stage in which America's first "court-appointed President" may well be forced from office for selling out our country to promote hidden economic agendas and insider profiteering from our national "partnership" with Israel. I would thank him for rekindling "anti-Semitism" worldwide, so that we can all understand what it means to be against the brand of ruthless, materialistic, self-serving, power-greedy, deceptive, atheistic and criminal mind-set which has come to characterize Zionism and militant 'Jewish' nationalism. I would thank him for behaving in such reprehensible ways that loving and decent Jews of conscience are stepping forward to protest having their "national home" and religion dragged through the blood of his continuing war crimes. I would thank him for provoking what will hopefully become a sweeping house-cleaning of the "amen corner" boys and girls out of our Administration and Legislature: when Press Pipsqueak Ari Fleisher tells Colin Powell that he "doesn't know what he is talking about," it is clear that forces unfriendly, indeed hostile to the highest US interests, are running the show. I would thank him, finally, for bringing the key survival issues for America to the forefront, and helping average Americans understand the folly of our current alleged "foreign policy" and the absolute wasteland of the Bush Family legacy. As the Paul Simon song says "Every generation throws a hero up on the pop charts." Anyone who truly cares about the future of our country should be thanking Sharon for showing us how we have been sold out by those who would put Israeli interests over and above our own. I would certainly want to register my total appreciation to Mr. Sharon before he is voted out of office by those within his own ranks who see that he is sending Israel into the garbage heap of history, and at the rate he is going, providing decades of cannon fodder for anti-Semites worldwide to remind us all of what has to rank as one of the most ignominous and destructive movements in modern times: may it never rise again. ***************************************************************** 46 UK: PM Warns Of Saddam Nuclear Threat Headline news from Sky News - Witness the event [http://www.sky.com] Nuclear ambitions Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Tony Blair has claimed. Mr Blair warned that in addition to his well-catalogued chemical weapons capability and his suspected biological weapons stockpiles, the Iraqi dictator has clear ambitions to add nuclear devices to his arsenal. Last week Mr Blair warned that Saddam's programme to develop weapons of mass destruction represented a "gathering threat", and that September 11 had demonstrated that some security threats are so grave that they have to be tackled pre-emptively. In an interview for next month's issue of the centre-left Prospect magazine, Mr Blair suggested that that threat could be nuclear as well as chemical or biological. Evidence Asked about suggestions that US President George Bush is preparing military action designed to oust Saddam, Mr Blair said: "If the time comes for action, people will have the evidence presented to them. "But be in no doubt at all that he is certainly trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction, in particular a nuclear capability." In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Blair acknowledged a "certain scratchiness" in the EU-US relationship, but claimed that ideologues of right and left were exaggerating the differences and making the world a "much more dangerous place". Coherent defence Mr Blair said: "If we want to have greater sway and greater power, then instead of complaining about America, we've got to face up to what we need to do. "That means developing a coherent defence capability and a set of institutions to allow Europe to speak strongly." ***************************************************************** 47 Nunn asks Senate to OK arms treaty Atlanta Journal-Constitution: ajc.com: NEWS TODAY • July 24, 2002 Follow-up accords with Russia urged Stephen Krupin - Cox Washington Bureau Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Washington --- Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn was back on familiar turf Tuesday. Nunn urged the Senate to approve a treaty cutting nuclear stockpiles in the United States and Russia, both as a gesture of Cold War closure and as a measure of counterterrorism. The Georgia Democrat told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty is a step in the right direction for improving U.S.-Russian relations and reducing the threat of a nuclear accident. President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the treaty in May. The treaty, which could be ratified this fall, calls for the two nations to cut their strategic nuclear arsenal to no more than 2,200 warheads by Dec. 31, 2012. Nunn, who retired from the Senate in 1996, once chaired the Armed Services Committee. The treaty of 10 sentences is the shortest in four decades of arms accords with Russia, and Nunn warned that its unprecedented vagueness could become a problem if it is not succeeded by agreements on enforcement and transparency. ''If it is not followed with other substantive actions, it will become irrelevant at best, counterproductive at worst,'' said Nunn, now the head of Nuclear Threat Initiative. It is a research institute he started with CNN founder Ted Turner that is dedicated to reducing the risk and spread of weapons of mass destruction. ''Both presidents should work to see that the treaty they have signed will be supplemented by additional agreements to ensure the transparency, mutual confidence and stability that will make these reductions a positive turning point, not a diplomatic footnote,'' he said. Without guidelines for arms reductions, the treaty leaves both nations ''essentially in the same posture we had throughout the Cold War,'' Nunn said. ''That is why I strongly believe that the next step our two nations must take has to be to ease our fingers away from the nuclear trigger,'' he said. ''We don't need launch-readiness rates of a few minutes to protect ourselves.'' Nunn also emphasized the treaty's urgency in the post-Sept. 11 world as a buttress for homeland security. ''Today, the gravest threat to U.S. security is not by a nation state but rather from terrorists like the al-Qaida group,'' he said. ''This means that the United States and Russia are in a new arms race. This time, we are on the same side. ''Terrorists and certain states are racing to acquire weapons of mass destruction, and we ought to be racing together to stop them.'' Nunn testified as the Senate prepares to vote on a supplemental appropriations bill as early as this week that could continue or further frustrate a program he started while in the Senate to dismantle weapons of mass destruction around the world. The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which Nunn and Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) established in 1991, has destroyed an array of former Soviet weaponry, including thousands of nuclear warheads and hundreds of ballistic missiles. The Bush administration did not renew the program this year for the first time, because of concerns that Russia has not fully accounted for its chemical and biological arsenals. However, the appropriations bill provides a waiver for Nunn-Lugar to continue through the fiscal year. Lugar has expressed concern that, without a permanent waiver he and the administration are advocating, full implementation of the treaty could be delayed far beyond the 2012 deadline. © 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ***************************************************************** 48 Ambassador Lists American Nuclear Concerns - The St. Petersburg Times. General news from St.Petersburg and Russia - #788, Tuesday, July 23, 2002 By Angela Charlton THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MOSCOW - The United States remains concerned about Russia's nuclear cooperation with Iran, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow said Monday, warning that those ties and Russian weapons sales to China could still threaten world security. Vershbow, in a sweeping speech on the second day of a weeklong conference at Golitsyno near Moscow, also issued frank criticism of Russia's military actions in Chechnya and of threats to Russia's post-Soviet freedoms. Such criticism had been muted in recent months amid warmer U.S.-Russian ties prompted by President Vladimir Putin's support of the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign. In addition, he said that the United States wants to step up imports of Russian oil in the coming years as part of a strategy to diversify its sources of fuel. "We continue to have concerns that technology and know-how for nuclear weapons are flowing to Iran," Vershbow said at the conference, according to the U.S. Embassy. "Russia has to keep close watch on nearby countries - Iran, Iraq, North Korea - that are actively seeking to acquire nuclear, chemical or biological weapons," Vershbow said. "Russia has to avoid letting its desire for commercial gain end up hastening the day that these countries can pose a threat that could not only destabilize their own region, but undermine the security of the entire world." Vershbow noted that the United States and other Western nations recently pledged $20 billion in aid to help Russia destroy or secure its weapons of mass destruction. "We hope that in the wake of this new initiative Russia will do its part by tightening its controls on nuclear cooperation with Iran," he said. The ambassador also expressed concern about Russia's weapons sales to China. "Could the massive amounts of weaponry that Russia sells to China - for understandable commercial reasons - add to the instability of Asia?" he asked. "If war broke out in the Taiwan Straits, this would lead to serious instability on Russia's eastern border." On the economic front, he said he was "not happy" with the relatively low level of U.S.-Russian trade and investment, but said that could change with efforts to bring Russian oil to U.S. markets. He said that at a summit in May, "our two presidents issued an important joint statement on energy that holds out the prospect for Russia to become a major supplier for the U.S. market." "We will try to translate this into concrete deals at a U.S.-Russian energy summit in Houston in October," Vershbow said. "Our investments [in Russia] are likely to get much larger, particularly in the energy sector," he said. He said the United States hopes to receive more oil from Russia over the next 15 years and that Russia may become one of the main U.S. suppliers, Interfax reported. Yukos sent its first shipment of crude to the United States earlier this month. Vershbow also indirectly expressed concern about recent investigations of journalists and researchers by the Federal Security Service (FSB) that have alarmed human-rights groups. "Will Russians have the right to associate with one another and with those abroad as they wish, or will the state keep track of associations with foreigners and messages sent on the Internet?" he asked. Regarding the Chechnya war, Vershbow asked: "Will Russia have the courage to seek a political solution to the bloody war in Chechnya, which continues despite the government's claims that the situation is returning to normal? Will the Russian leadership hold to account those members of the security forces who, in the name of fighting terrorism, are committing serious violations of the human rights of the civilian population?" The Council of Europe's human-rights commissioner, Alvaro Gil-Robles, who attended the same conference, said the authorities weren't doing enough to end violations of civilians' rights. Both Vershbow and Gil-Robles focused their criticism on so-called "mopping up" operations in which federal forces search towns for suspected rebels. Gil-Robles also urged action to prevent anti-Semitic attacks and punish those responsible for a spate of such incidents in recent months. "Society cannot remain passive or indifferent to demonstrations of this sort, including posters, publications, etc.," Gil-Robles said. Bombs have injured three people in recent months who tried to remove booby-trapped signs reading "Death to Jews." Similar signs, some with fake explosives attached to them, have sprouted up around the country. "If a bomb is attached to a poster and it causes injury or death, this is not just an expression of xenophobia but a crime that should be punished in keeping with the law," Gil-Robles said. n According to official figures released by the military headquarters in the North Caucasus on Monday, 4,249 federal service personnel have been killed and 12,285 wounded in fighting in Chechnya since fall 1999. The military also claimed that federal forces have killed 13,517 rebels over the same period, Interfax reported. Neither claim could be independently verified. E-mail [letters@sptimesrussia.com?subject=Ambassador Lists ***************************************************************** 49 Feds? nuclear cleanup plan criticized Some say it doesn?t go far enough to meet states? needs WASHINGTON ? The Bush administration´s plan to accelerate the cleanup of former nuclear weapons plants, including the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, may leave more waste at the sites than had been expected, according to a report released Friday at a House hearing. The Energy Department announced early this year its strategy to speed cleanup efforts and refocus attention on eliminating waste that poses the biggest threats to the environment. The agency also hopes to reduce cleanup costs by improving efficiency. To meet the goals, the department is considering relaxed requirements on transporting some of its waste offsite, the General Accounting Office report said. Specifically, it said this was under consideration at the Hanford reservation in Washington State. Additionally, the report said the agency is considering reclassification as low-level waste of some high-level waste at its facilities, which would allow more flexibility in deciding how to get rid of it. The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, is suing the agency over the plan. ?There is not an overt attempt to leave waste in place,? Jesse Roberson, the assistant secretary for environmental management, told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. ?The goal is to do a risk-based cleanup that is protective of human health and the environment in every case.? After the hearing, Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., said he was not completely satisfied with that. ?It raised enough questions in my mind that I just want to explore it more than I was able to today,? Whitfield said. The agency plans to spend $1.1 billion on the accelerated cleanup program next year, in addition to roughly $6 billion it plans to spend on overall cleanup efforts. Sites will be eligible for the additional money only if regulators from their states enter into agreements with the Energy Department. ?As a result, sites that do not participate could receive less funding than in past years,? the GAO report stated. So far, six states have entered into such agreements, but several others have shown a reluctance to do so. Rep. Peter Deutsch, D-Fla., said state regulators were wary because the Energy Department did not seek their input in creating the accelerated program. ?One of the tenets of good management is that you consult with your stake holders before making changes,? Deutsch said. States have until Aug. 1 to decide whether to enter into accelerated agreements. Whitfield, who represents the area around a uranium plant in Paducah, Ky., said he was uneasy that Kentucky has not signed up for accelerated cleanup and could miss out on the extra money. A sticking point in negotiations with Kentucky concerns a disagreement over what would be eligible for disposal in an onsite landfill, Roberson said. Officials from Tennessee, Washington and Idaho also testified Friday. Those states have entered into accelerated cleanup agreements with the Energy Department, and the officials who testified said signing on had not required ceding too much authority to the federal government. They said the plan would not void previous commitments the Energy Department had made to their states. Edition Date: 07-22-2002 News ***************************************************************** 50 DOE plans to open Richland office This story was published Tue, Jul 23, 2002 By Annette Cary Herald staff writer The Department of Energy's Office of Science will open an office in Richland to oversee Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as part of a major restructuring. Currently, DOE's Richland office has oversight of the national lab. The change means about 30 DOE employees in Richland will switch from responsibility to the Office of Environmental Management to the new local science office. "While I have always been proud to have PNNL in the (Richland Operations Office) portfolio, I fully support the secretary's decision and will work to ensure a smooth transition," Keith Klein, DOE Hanford manager, said in a message to employees Monday. The Richland DOE employees are expected to switch to reporting to the science office in the next six months. It's among the first steps to be completed in a planned two-year restructuring of the Office of Science. Although 90 percent of PNNL's work is for DOE, just 15 to 20 percent is related to Hanford. PNNL has had an excellent working relationship with the Richland operations office but this "is a good opportunity for the lab to grow and gain experience working more closely with headquarters," said PNNL spokesman Geoff Harvey. The national changes to the Office of Science are intended to improve efficiency and reduce costs by reducing layers of management, streamlining decision-making and clarifying lines of authority. "This new initiative by the Office of Science reflects the president's management agenda to reduce bureaucracies, focus on results, streamline functions and make the most of the knowledge, skills and abilities of our people," Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said in a statement sent to Richland DOE employees. "These actions have the potential for making the department more successful in executing its missions as well as managing government programs more economically and effectively." More information is available under "project plan" at www.screstruct.doe.gov on the Internet. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 51 $2 billion OK'd for Hanford cleanup This story was published Tue, Jul 23, 2002 By Les Blumenthal Herald Washington, D.C., bureau WASHINGTON -- A Senate appropriations subcommittee agreed Monday to provide $2 billion in cleanup funding directly to the Hanford nuclear reservation and pointedly rejected a controversial Department of Energy plan to link additional funding to concessions from state regulators. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of the energy and water appropriations subcommittee, said the $2 billion would be enough to meet all current provisions of the Tri-Party Agreement, which governs the Hanford cleanup. It also included the $433 million in additional cleanup funding that DOE said it would give to Hanford if regulators agreed to accelerate the effort. The department had proposed cutting cleanup funding at Hanford and other sites and setting the savings aside in a special $1.1 billion fund that DOE officials would control. Money from the special fund, which Murray called a "slush fund," would be provided to sites where regulators had agreed to speed up existing cleanup plans. State officials had signed a letter of intent with the department indicating they would agree to negotiate changes in the Tri-Party Agreement and adopt an accelerated cleanup schedule at Hanford in exchange for $433 million in additional funding. The agreement is to be finalized by Aug. 1. But over the past week or so, state officials, including Attorney General Christine Gregoire, have told congressional committees they were concerned DOE may be pushing a plan that would allow some of the highly radioactive waste to remain permanently in the underground storage tanks at Hanford. In rejecting the creation of the special fund, the appropriations subcommittee said, "The complete lack of information from the Department (of Energy) to Congress concerning the specific tasks to be performed with $1.1 billion of the taxpayers money is as shocking as it is arrogant." Creation of the fund and the push to accelerate the cleanup had become the cornerstone of the Bush administration's environmental management plan for Hanford and other sites. The proposal followed a top-to-bottom review that concluded under the current schedule it would take 70 years and $220 billion to finish cleaning up all the sites. "I think we sent a strong message," Murray said of the subcommittee's approval of a $26.3 billion energy and water appropriations bill that included the cleanup funding. Murray, an outspoken critic of the administration's proposal creating the special fund, said the subcommittee's action "puts to rest" the question of whether the department will meet its obligations at Hanford and elsewhere. "Leaving a significant portion of the environmental management funds unassigned would have left states vulnerable to accept new cleanup agreements or face denial of adequate funding," she said. "I certainly support innovative and cost-effective new cleanup efforts, but they cannot come at the expense of safety or standards." Of the $2 billion earmarked for Hanford in the Senate bill, $760 million would go to DOE's Richland Operations office and $1.132 billion for the Office of River Protection. An additional $125 million would be provided for program direction and safeguards and security at Hanford. Overall, the Senate bill provides $7.1 billion for the department's environmental management program, a $300 million increase over what President Bush had sought. The Senate bill will be considered by the full Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, and Murray said she didn't expect any problems. The House energy and water appropriations subcommittee, meanwhile, last week approved the administration's plan for a special fund and accelerated cleanup. The House subcommittee said the proposal would "produce more real risk reduction, accelerate cleanup and achieve much needed cost and schedule improvements. This new account is critical to beginning implementation of the recent top-to-bottom review of the department's environmental management programs." The House version of the bill was not to be released to the public until after the full House Appropriations Committee acted. But action on the bill by the full committee was postponed until September after it got caught up in a broader budget debate. Senate and House negotiators eventually will have to resolve differences in the two bills. Joe Davis, a department spokesman, said the administration hoped the House's cleanup provisions would prevail in a conference committee. "We think the better way of allocating money is by accelerating cleanup," he said. "We believe our plan will work." Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 52 DOE review fosters hope for FFTF supporters This story was published Wed, Jul 24, 2002 By Annette Cary Herald staff writer The Department of Energy has launched a three-month review of facilities the United States needs to advance its nuclear energy program, giving new hope to supporters of Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility. Proponents believe the research reactor could play a crucial role in tests needed to develop the next generation of nuclear reactors and to start work stemming from a new agreement between Russia and the United States to find ways to reduce nuclear weapons-grade material. DOE has said it has no use for the reactor, but a coalition of Mid-Columbia governments is working to have it declared surplus and restarted to make isotopes for medicine and industry. Space also would be available for government programs, supporters say. "We continue to see national policy shine on us," said Claude Oliver, chairman of the Benton County commissioners. Benton County has joined with Richland and the Port of Benton to find a commercial use for the reactor. DOE established the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory as the nation's center of nuclear energy research and development this month. The site, which had been managed by the department's environmental management program, will be reassigned to the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology. It will become a major contributor to the initiatives such as Generation IV nuclear energy systems and advanced, proliferation-resistant fuel cycle technology, according to DOE. Some supporters believe FFTF is the nation's only reactor capable of doing some of the research required for those programs. France also has notified the coalition of its interest in using the Hanford reactor to collaborate with the United States on nuclear research, Oliver said. "It's of mutual benefit to both nations," Oliver said. The study of the United States' nuclear energy facilities will be led by Bill Magwood, the head of DOE's nuclear energy program. Replacing it and the adjacent Fuels and Materials Examination Facility would cost $2.5 billion, he said. While supporters continue to try to save the reactor, work is continuing toward a permanent shutdown. The process of switching it from the nuclear energy budget of DOE to the cleanup budget has begun. A report on deactivating FFTF is expected next month. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 53 PNNL gets grant for gene research This story was published Wed, Jul 24, 2002 By Annette Cary Herald staff writer Pacific Northwest National Laboratory received $10.6 million from a total of $103 million awarded to 26 research institutions Tuesday by the Department of Energy to better understand the workings of genes. The award comes as the lab has increased its focus on systems biology, the study of understanding how parts of living cells operate together. Through DOE's new Genomes to Life program, PNNL in Richland and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee will develop new technologies to examine live cells. The goal is to find better, quicker ways to isolate and identify groups of proteins, the substances that carry out biological functions. "Current technologies won't meet the ambitious goals of Genomes to Life, so we'll create the techniques that will make it possible," said Steve Wiley, PNNL program manager. The lab already has developed a new mass spectrometer 100 times more sensitive and faster than conventional methods and a new type of microscope that can look at cells without destroying or invading them. The grant money will be used at PNNL over three years to improve existing technology and develop new technology to automatically isolate protein groups, identify proteins even if they are available in very small amounts and characterize them more completely. The new techniques are expected to be used to learn more about the proteins used to carry out the functions of two specific microbes with a goal of taking advantage of solutions nature already has devised to help solve environmental problems. One microbe, Shewanella oenidensis, is known to transform metals and toxic materials into harmless forms. The other, Rhodopseudomonos palustris, can absorb carbon dioxide that may contribute to global warming. The individual microbes have had their genetic sequence determined under DOE's genome program. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 54 ORNL, Y-12 funding continues forward The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Wednesday, July 24, 2002 by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff A bill boosting funding for Oak Ridge environmental management and granting the president's request for funding of the Spallation Neutron Source is making its way toward the U.S. Senate floor. Today the Senate's version of the fiscal year 2003 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill was to be considered by the full Senate Appropriations Committee, and if it passes muster will be placed on the calendar for consideration by the full Senate. Tuesday the bill got the OK from the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriation Subcommittee. It would bring total Oak Ridge environmental management funding to $520 million in FY 2003, an 8-percent increase. In addition the funding includes $225 million for the SNS at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the nation's largest ongoing civilian science project; and $24 million for the construction of a new Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at ORNL, the first of its kind across the DOE complex. "We're extremely pleased to get full funding for both these projects," said ORNL media spokesman Billy Stair. "Particularly the center for Nanophase materials. We received this funding because Oak Ridge National Laboratory was in a better position to get started first." The Department of Energy will eventually fund two other such projects across the DOE complex, according to Stair. The bill also includes $10 million above the budget request for the Y-12 nuclear weapons production plant, in addition to the $25.1 million also provided for Y-12 in the fiscal year 2002 supplemental appropriations conference report, which is awaiting final approval by the full House and Senate. "This bill continues Oak Ridge's leadership in cutting edge science and technology," U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., said in a press statement. U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., echoed the sentiment. "Oak Ridge's contribution to technology and research is critical to our nation's scientific development," said Frist. "This funding will ensure that Oak Ridge remains a pioneer for scientific advancement by supporting priorities like Spallation, the Mouse House and Y-12. These projects alone provide a great service to the scientific community, and I'm pleased my colleagues recognize their importance." R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 55 $21.7M to ORNL for Genomes program The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Oak Ridge National Laboratory is named on three of five Department of Energy awards for the Genomes to Life program and according to an ORNL press release will receive about $21.7 million as part of a massive effort that promises payoffs for energy and environmental applications. Through the Genomes to Life program, researchers hope to identify and characterize protein complexes, the molecular machines of life. A better understanding of protein complexes and their regulation in microbial organisms could lead to advances in a number of areas, including improving the ability to clean up metals in contaminated soil, the release states, adding that through this effort, researchers also expect to learn more about the earth's carbon cycle and ways to produce clean energy sources. Michelle Buchanan, who will be the director of the new Genomes to Life Center for Molecular and Cellular Systems, noted that the project is an ambitious one. The work will require new analytical and computational tools to generate critical information that will revolutionize biological research. "This is the next big step in biology -- putting the information from the genome program to work," the release quotes Buchanan, director of ORNL's Chemical Sciences Division, as saying. "This is very much something for which the national labs are ideally suited because of their multidisciplinary teams and their exceptional analytical and computational capabilities." A key partner for the three-year $23.4 million project is Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Together, ORNL and Pacific Northwest National Lab have the most comprehensive collection of analytical tools within the DOE lab system, the release states, adding that these tools are necessary to better understand microbes on a molecular level. According to the release, much of the challenge in this project lies in isolating proteins from a single cell, which can be an expensive and time-consuming process. PNNL and ORNL are devising new approaches to isolate these complexes in a robust, high-throughput fashion. In addition, powerful mass spectrometry-based techniques at ORNL and PNNL will provide an unparalleled ability to identify and characterize these protein complexes, the release states. The researchers plan to employ technologies to automate the protein isolation and analysis process and incorporate computational tools to interpret, store and disseminate data to the greater biological research community. "We believe our incredible staff, the unique and powerful technologies they have developed, and their innovative approach to systems biology will help us provide answers to questions that could make a difference in cleaning up the environment and gaining insight into disease development," the release quotes Steve Wiley, PNNL program manager and deputy director for the new center, as saying. Frank Larimer of ORNL is the other deputy director. Also named on the award to create the center are Argonne National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of North Carolina and the University of Utah. ORNL will receive a total of about $11 million, and PNNL will receive about $10.6 million. In the second of the three DOE awards, ORNL is a partner with Sandia National Laboratories to develop advanced computational methods and computational infrastructure to support the biological analysis and simulation of protein complexes, their regulation and collective behavior. "Biology is undergoing a major transformation that will be enabled and ultimately driven by computation," the release quotes Thomas Zacharia, ORNL associate lab director for Computing and Computational Sciences, as saying. Al Geist, co-principal investigator on the project and an ORNL corporate fellow, expanding on Zacharia's observation, is quoted in the release saying, "High-performance computing is essential to modern high-throughput experimental biology. Genomes to Life will require even more use of high-performance data analysis, modeling and simulation methods to help us understand complex biological systems." ORNL and Sandia researchers bring substantial expertise in the application of supercomputers for science, according to the release. ORNL's 4.5 teraflop supercomputer, listed recently as the eighth fastest in the world, will assist researchers in their quests to advance the understanding of complex biological systems and predict their behavior. ORNL will receive a total of $5.7 million of this $19.1 million project. Other partners are Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Los Alamos National Laboratory; National Center for Genome Resources, Santa Fe, N.M.; University of California, San Diego; University of Tennessee; University of Michigan; The Molecular Science Institute, Berkeley, Calif.; University of California, Santa Barbara; and University of Illinois. In the third DOE project, ORNL is a partner with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and will receive a total of about $5 million. The goal is to develop computational models to describe and predict the behavior of gene regulatory networks in microbes in response to environmental conditions found in sites contaminated with metals and radionuclides. Other partners in the $36.6 million project are the University of California, Berkeley; University of Missouri, Columbia; University of Washington, Seattle; and Diversa of San Diego. Jizhong Zhou of ORNL's Environmental Sciences Division is a co-principal investigator for the project. The DOE Genomes to Life program awards total $103 million for research that will be conducted at six national laboratories, 16 universities and research hospitals, and four private research institutes. ORNL is a DOE multiprogram research facility managed by UT-Battelle. [http://www.oakridger.com/contact/index.html] [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 56 DOE Office of Science to Realign Headquarters, Field Structures and Improve Processes --> energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: July 23, 2002 Washington, DC --In a major step toward implementing key aspects of President Bush's Management Agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science (SC) is undertaking a major restructuring of its headquarters and field organization. Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, Director of the Office of Science, announced yesterday at Argonne National Laboratory a two-year restructuring project that will reengineer management processes to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of operations. The effort is aimed at reducing layers of management, streamlining decision-making processes, clarifying lines of authority, making more efficient use of resources, and reshaping and rebuilding the SC work force. "This new initiative by the Office of Science reflects President Bush's Management Agenda to reduce bureaucracies, focus on results, streamline functions and make the most of the knowledge, skills and abilities of our people," Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said. "These actions have the potential for making the department more successful in executing its missions as well as managing government programs more economically and effectively." "The Office of Science is fortunate to have many highly qualified, dedicated employees who have helped make the science programs we support world leaders in the development of new knowledge and cutting edge science," Dr. Orbach said in remarks before Department employees at Argonne National Laboratory. "But DOE research programs face many challenges, including continued pressure on scarce resources. For the Office of Science to continue to deliver top quality science to the Nation, we must become 'best in class' in our management operations as well." The SC Restructuring Project will produce a streamlined organization optimized to accomplish the SC mission, take unnecessary work out of the system, enable the federal workforce to be more productive, support improved laboratory contractor performance, and ultimately drive down the cost of doing business in both federal and contractor operations. The establishment of clear lines of authority and accountability for line and staff managers will drive reporting relationships and organizational changes at headquarters and in the field. Key features of this project include elimination of a major management level between the Director of Science and the Site Office Managers at SC laboratories and minimizing the number of layers within levels throughout SC. The Project Plan calls for transforming the Chicago and Oak Ridge Operations Offices and elements at SC headquarters into support centers with redefined roles. These will provide best-in-class technical, business and administrative support to SC and, as appropriate, other DOE programs. A SC Site Office will be established at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory by working with the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management and the Manager of the Richland Operations Office. Re-engineering the management systems and processes that SC uses to accomplish its work will complement the restructuring of the organization. This will be done over a two-year period in order to continue to meet mission requirements while simultaneously making fundamental changes in how work is accomplished. The Restructuring Project will be conducted in three phases: + Phase 1: Rollout - December 31, 2002 - During this phase detailed planning will be completed; the management structure for SC developed and approved; roles, responsibilities, accountabilities and authorities defined; and key leadership decisions announced. In addition, management systems will be inventoried and prioritized for reengineering during Phase 2. A plan for communications with employees and key stakeholders will be developed and implemented. + Phase 2: January 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004 - SC will define reporting relationships and activate the new management structure at the start of Phase 2. The balance of Phase 2 will involve simplifying requirements and re-engineering processes to enhance efficiency and productivity. A web-based management system will be developed and brought on line as the vehicle to deliver improved, reengineered processes to users. Effective communication with employees will continue to be stressed throughout this phase. + Phase 3: October 1, 2004 - December 31, 2004 - The Office of Science will refine and optimize the alignment of resources within the new organization as the transition to full operations is accomplished. Communication with employees will remain a high priority. The SC Restructuring Project will be carried out by a team of headquarters and field employees under the leadership of Edward Cumesty, Deputy Manager of the Oak Ridge Operations Office. Development of a web-based management system to implement improved, re-engineered processes will help SC minimize the need for relocations as a result of restructuring. Additionally, based on the administration's proposed budget, SC will carry out the Restructuring Project without a Reduction in Force during Fiscal Year 2003. Copies of the Project Plan are available at [http://www.screstruct.doe.gov] . Media Contact: Jill Schroeder, 202-586-4940 Jackie Johnson, 202-586-5806 Release No. PR-02-147 ***************************************************************** 57 Energy Department Awards $103 Million for Post-Genomic Research energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: July 23, 2002 WASHINGTON, DC -- Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today announced five major research awards for post-genomic research. The awards total $103 million over the next five years. Research will be conducted at six national laboratories, 16 universities and research hospitals and four private research institutes. The awards are part of the department's new "Genomes to Life" program that plans to take advantage of solutions that nature has already devised to help solve problems in energy production, environmental cleanup and carbon cycling. Through a systems approach to biology at the interface of the biological, physical and computational sciences, the program seeks to understand entire living organisms and their interactions with the environment. The awards were made before DOE employees in the Forrestal Auditorium this afternoon. "This innovative research program offers biotechnology solutions that can help us produce clean energy, clean up the environment and make a significant contribution to the President's policy on climate change," Secretary Abraham said. "One could hardly imagine when the Energy Department began the human genome project in the '80s that the resulting information and technologies could yield such diverse benefits." Secretary Abraham made the remarks at an event at Department of Energy headquarters where he presented the lead researchers with ceremonial checks to begin their work. As part of this initiative, the department's Office of Science requested proposals for large, multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary projects involving both the biological and computational sciences. Scientists have long tried to understand the workings of individual genes or small groups of genes. The new projects will focus on entire networks of genes and even entire biological systems - single-celled organisms at first and later more complex creatures including humans. This new research is possible because of the information and technology now available to scientists on the human genome and the rapidly growing list of other organisms -- from microbes to plants to worms to mice -- that provide new perspectives on the inner workings of biological systems. The project's 10-year goal is to make advances in systems biology, computation and technology that will: contribute to increased sources of biological-based energy; help understand the earth's carbon cycle and design ways to enhance carbon capture; and lead to cost-effective ways to clean up the environment. Nature has created an array of molecular machines with precise and efficient functions and controls, including motion, molecular detection, chemical synthesis and degradation, and light emission and detection. A goal of the Genomes to Life program is to understand these molecular machines and their controls so well that they can be used and even redesigned to address national needs. The program is also expected to lead to an understanding of the complex regulatory networks that control the assembly and coordinate the operation of these machines. The program will also provide an understanding of the complex workings of microbial communities. Many of the microbes that may be used to help solve energy and environmental challenges normally do their work as part of communities made up of many different microbes. Eight microbes will be studied in these research projects because of their potential for: bioremediation of metals and radionuclides, degradation of organic pollutants, production of hydrogen or sequestration of carbon or because of their importance in ocean carbon cycling. All of these individual microbes have had their genetic sequence determined under the department's Microbial Genome program. None of this is achievable without sophisticated new computational tools. Thus, to help these achieve insights, researchers will develop computational tools to predict the functions and behaviors of complex biological systems. More information on the Genomes to Life program is available at: [http://DOEGenomesToLife.org] . FISCAL YEAR 2002 GENOMES TO LIFE RESEARCH AWARDS Award to Oak Ridge National Laboratory $23.4 million over 3 years Genomes to Life Center for Molecular and Cellular Systems: A Research Program for Identification and Characterization of Protein Complexes Research Partners: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Argonne National Laboratory; Sandia National Laboratory; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Utah. This team, led by Oak Ridge and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, will develop and use the technologies needed to identify and characterize the complete set of multiprotein complexes, the molecular machines of life, within a microbial cell. The research will focus on two microbes -- one that plays a significant role in earth's carbon cycle and another with an ability to clean up metals in contaminated soil. Award to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory $36.6 million over 5 years Rapid Deduction of Stress Response Pathways in Metal/Radionuclide Reducing Bacteria Research Partners: Sandia National Laboratory; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; University of California at Berkeley; University of Missouri, Columbia; University of Washington, Seattle; Diversa Corporation, San Diego, Calif. This team will develop computational models to describe and predict the behavior of gene regulatory networks in microbes in response to the environmental conditions found in waste sites contaminated with metals and radionuclides. Award to Sandia National Laboratory $19.1 million over 3 years Carbon Sequestration in Synechococcus: From Molecular Machines to Hierarchical Modeling Research Partners: Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Los Alamos National Laboratory; National Center for Genome Resources, Santa Fe, NM; University of California at San Diego; University of Tennessee at Knoxville; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; The Molecular Science Institute, Berkeley, CA; University of California at Santa Barbara; University of Illinois, Champaign. This team will develop and apply experimental and computational methods to understand proteins, protein-protein interactions and the gene regulatory networks that control the production of these proteins in a marine microbe that plays a significant role in earth's carbon cycle. Cooperative Agreement with the University of Massachusetts, Amherst $8.9 million over 3 years Analysis of the Genetic Potential and Gene Expression of Microbial Communities Involved in the in situ Bioremediation of Uranium and Harvesting Electrical Energy from Organic Matter Research Partners: The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, MD; Argonne National Laboratory; University of Tennessee, Memphis. This team will study a family of microbes with the potential for uranium bioremediation and, remarkably, for production of electricity through their ability to transfer electrons to electrodes. The research's goal is to develop computational models that can predict the activity of communities of these microbes in their natural environment. This knowledge in turn can predict the success of bioremediation and energy production under different environmental conditions. Cooperative Agreement with Harvard Medical School $15 million over 5 years Microbial Ecology, Proteogenomics and Computational Optima Research Partners: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA This team will study two different microbes -- one that plays a significant role in earth's carbon cycle, and another with broad metabolic diversity. The team will study the proteins and protein-protein interactions in these microbes, the gene regulatory networks that control the production of these proteins and the behavior of these microbes as complex environmental communities. They will develop computational methods to understand the biology of these microbes at a systems level. Media Contact: Jill Schroeder, 202/586-4940 Jacqueline Johnson, 202/586-5806 Release No. PR-02-148 ***************************************************************** 58 *Energy Bill Contradicts Push to Corporate Reform* Public Citizen */July 23, 2002/* */Congress Rails Against Corporate Crime One Minute,/* */Deregulates Corporations the Next/* WASHINGTON, D.C. ? Even as Congress is cracking down on corporate wrongdoing in the accounting realm, it is moving to gut pro-consumer regulations for some of the nation?s largest and most powerful corporations and give them more latitude to embark on questionable deals, Public Citizen said today. As part of the ongoing conference over House and Senate energy legislation, conferees are discussing the Senate version?s electricity title, which includes language that will repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA). If lawmakers repeal this key consumer protection law, they will further deregulate the energy industry and allow more Enron-like manipulations. Enacted decades ago to protect consumers from rapacious electric companies, PUHCA is one of the few remaining federal laws regulating the nation?s giant power corporations. Repealing the law will allow those companies to embark on another frenzy of mergers and acquisitions and encourage corporate financial escapades in far-flung, risky ventures that have nothing to do with providing reliable and affordable electricity service to consumers ? an essential commodity. "Members of Congress are touting themselves as reformers while simultaneously giving in to yet more corporate demands for less regulation and less accountability," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen?s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. "The nauseating political enthusiasm for deregulating corporate America and acceding to corporate demands is what got us into this mess in the first place. By blasting corporate crime one minute and deregulating energy companies the next, Congress is putting its hypocrisy and disregard for public interest on blazing display." PUHCA prohibits utility holding companies from investing ratepayers? money in areas that will not directly contribute to low bills and reliable service, such as out-of-region power plants or non-electricity industries. Both the Senate and House versions of energy legislation were heavily influenced by the Bush administration?s energy agenda, an agenda developed in secret between Vice President Dick Cheney and some of the nation?s most powerful energy executives. Identical or similar portions of the House and Senate energy bills mirror Bush-Cheney energy proposals on several industry giveaways, including hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for the nuclear and fossil fuel industries. Neither bill takes serious steps to increase automobile fuel economy. The Senate measure requires utilities to obtain a portion of their power from renewable energy sources, but the renewable standard was severely watered down prior to passage. And the conference will consider the Senate?s renewal of the taxpayer-backed insurance scheme for the nuclear power industry, an industry that still can?t get insurance coverage in the private market and so must rely on government financial protection for its very existence. Instead of lifting regulations on the energy industry, Public Citizen urges the conference committee to: * Mandate strict enforcement of PUHCA and close loopholes that allowed Enron and other traders to obtain market power over consumers; * Reject taxpayer-backed subsidies and lavish tax breaks for the energy industry; * Revoke market-based rates (which have become virtual monopoly rates) and order cost-based pricing in all wholesale electricity markets; * Re-regulate wholesale power marketers to require disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission; * Grant federal and state regulators the authority to order holding companies to divest assets, expand anti-trust investigations and enforcement, and create non-profit, consumer-owned regional transmission councils; * Allow the government?s insurance scheme for the nuclear power industry to expire as scheduled Aug. 1. Existing reactors would still be covered. But if the insurance industry won?t cover the risks of new power plants, taxpayers shouldn?t either. "Enron, WorldCom, Global Horizon and the rest have reminded everyone yet again that corporations serve society only if they are properly monitored and regulated," Hauter said. "Members of Congress are scouring Washington right now for television cameras, so they can look into them and profess their passionate commitment to reforms that will protect the public from greedy, dishonest corporations. Those lawmakers who sit on the energy bill conference committee have an excellent opportunity to put their words into action." ### Public Citizen ***************************************************************** 59 US Uranium Encrichment Parntership Expands U.S. Newswire 22 Jul 9:46 US Uranium Enrichment Partnership Expands, Appoints New President To: Naitonal Desk Contact: Dr. Pat Upson of Urenco Limited, Marlow, UK, 44-1628-402230 WASHINGTON, July 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- LES(1) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) by Urenco, Cameco Corporation, Westinghouse Electric Company, Fluor-Daniel and the affiliates of three U.S. energy companies, Exelon, Entergy, and Duke, as an initial step towards restructuring the LES Partnership. The MOA marks the first step towards a formal partnership to design, construct, and operate a new uranium enrichment facility in the United States. The $1.1 billion facility will use the world's lowest cost, most advanced centrifuge technology developed by Urenco. LES also announced today the appointment of George E. Dials as President of the LES Partnership. Dials, who has degrees from both West Point and MIT, was a highly decorated officer in the U.S. Army and was awarded the Silver Star. He has held senior positions in the nuclear industry, both in the government sector, including Los Alamos, and in the domestic sector. His most recent position was Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors for Science and Engineering Associates, Inc., a scientific and engineering consulting company. "George is the ideal person for this role and his distinguished career within the industry will serve him and the Partnership well in this high-profile position," said LES Chairman Dr. Pat Upson. "I am looking forward to working with him as we bring this new enrichment plant into production." The LES Partnership has been in discussions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission since mid-March to identify and resolve policy issues, prior to the submission of a license application for the facility in late 2002, or early 2003, and is also working to ensure that the NRC has a thorough understanding of the centrifuge enrichment technology. Upson hailed the signing of the MOA and the appointment of Dials as significant steps forward in the Partnership's plans to bring proven enrichment technology to the United States. "The United States is the world's largest user of enrichment services," Upson commented, "with annual demand of approximately 11 million SWU (Separative Work Units) but domestic production that supplies approximately one-third of this amount. "Urenco is the world's leading supplier of enrichment services based on advanced gas centrifuge technology, and this venture will give U.S. nuclear utilities the benefit of a highly competitive enrichment technology in a domestic facility. "We are strongly committed to the U.S. market, and welcome the active participation in this undertaking of the three largest U.S. nuclear utilities, representing one-third of the U.S. nuclear industry. This is a strong vote of confidence in our technology and the future of this project," Upson said. "We are also extremely pleased to have Cameco and Westinghouse, leaders in the world nuclear arena, and each with a long and established presence in the U.S. nuclear fuel business, as part of our team." The proposed 3 million SWU facility is expected to be in operation by 2007/2008, with an initial capacity of 1 million SWU. Once operational, it will employ between 200 and 250 staff. A comprehensive search to identify suitable sites for the LES facility is ongoing with no site yet selected. For further information please contact: Dr. Pat Upson, Urenco Limited, Marlow, UK on (plus)44 1628 402230 (1)LES is Louisiana Energy Services, a partnership between Urenco, Fluor-Daniel, and the affiliates of three U.S. energy companies, Exelon, Entergy, and Duke. http://www.usnewswire.com ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************