***************************************************************** 11/26/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.307 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 US: US OP: U.N. route will lead to failure 2 India calls for investigation of Pakistan-North Korea nuclear nexus 3 US: US reaction ?very severe? if Pak-N Korea link proved 4 UK: BNIF gives evidence to Commons Science and Technology Committee 5 UK: BNIF takes trade mission to Russia to meet with key stakeholders 6 No decision from government on BE 7 Inspectors will demonstrate neutrality and objectivity: ElBaradei 8 Russia assures Canada Iran nuclear project for 'peaceful use' only 9 US: New panel will tackle energy policy 10 See you in court, Tony 11 North Korea: Now What? - Pacific Forum Program - 12 Pakistan's dirty nuclear deals 13 US's Kelly presses North Korea on nuclear program NUCLEAR REACTORS 14 US: NRC St. Lucie Exemption NUCLEAR SAFETY 15 UK: Nuclear tests caused cancers, court hears* 16 About Gulf War illnesses 17 Science will prove nuclear test link with sickness – lawyers 18 Gulf vets fight a different battle 19 Studies barely scratch surface of Gulf War's toll on health 20 US: Researchers see solid-state Geiger counter costing $10 21 US: County to give KI pills to businesses within 10 miles of Oyster 22 US: Occupational Exposure to Beryllium; Request for Information NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 23 US: Nevada lawmakers want probe of nuke dump whistleblowers' removal 24 US: Nevada senators seek probe of Yucca claims 25 US: Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejects delay on dry cask facility 26 US: NRC looking for candidates for N-waste advisory committee 27 UK: BNIF states 'Radwaste disposal now a key EU issue' 28 UK: BNIF organise nuclear education trip for journalists to Yucca 29 US: Senators Question Yucca Mountain Science 30 US: Senators seek GAO probe of new Yucca allegations NUCLEAR WEAPONS 31 IAEA to tell NKorea to end nuke program, accept inspection 32 US warns Pakistan: Stop the ‘nuclear hush-hush’ with North Korea 33 US: Jeff German: Mushroom cloud hangs over Nevada US DEPT. OF ENERGY 34 EDITORIAL: Not-so-happy birthday (DOE turns 25) 35 USEC aims to cut 200 jobs at Kentucky plant 36 Whistleblower Wins Settlement Against Bechtel 37 HANFORD FACILITY'S VALUE DOUBTED 38 ORNL division changes its name 39 K-25 cleanup: Jaw-dropper and showstopper 40 Bechtel Jacobs sticks to fixed price, only different 41 Radiation leak at INEEL taints four workers 42 Cleanup schedule not credible, says citizens' panel OTHER NUCLEAR 43 Countries seek tougher 'right to know' on toxics - 44 OR firm signs pact with UK 45 Russia Greens say security service oppressing them ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 US OP: U.N. route will lead to failure USATODAY.com - 11/25/2002 - Updated 08:07 PM ET By Ken Adelman The Bush administration wanted a United Nations inspection regime the worse way possible. Well, that's how it will get it now. The administration somehow imagined that U.N. inspections could ensure Saddam Hussein's disarmament. No chance. Saddam mastered developing and hiding chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in the past 11 years. He just finished four years of producing, without even bothering to conceal. Hans Blix is now in Iraq preparing for 80 or so inspectors to cover a country the size of France, with 23 million inhabitants who face instant torture or death for revealing such information. The inspectors' task may seem far-fetched, but it's actually impossible. Consider these two comparisons: After World War I, more than 5,000 international inspectors went into Germany after its hostile government was changed  not with the violators still in power. A team of 80 inspectors equals the size of the police force of Blacksburg, Va., and is smaller than the force of Milford, Conn. From this flows a logical conclusion: The only reliable international inspectors for Iraq are members of the 101st Airborne Division. Real inspections can only follow real regime change. Once U.N. inspectors set foot in Iraq, we can kiss President Bush's justified policy of regime change goodbye. There's no way we can then liberate Iraq without getting a green light from Blix. And there's no way Blix will be giving a green light. Yet, Bush's wishes to liberate Iraq and engage the U.N. could be done in two ways. First, by declaring that any Iraqi shooting at U.S. and British aircraft in Iraq's "no-fly" zones  as is done daily now  constitutes a "material breach" and thus is grounds for our resuming the Gulf War. Existing U.N. resolutions clearly justify this claim. Or, second, by highlighting any discrepancy between what Saddam declares as his weapons of mass destruction (due by Dec. 8) and what we know he has. Then by calling such discrepancy a "material breach" and thus grounds for our attack. Unfortunately, the first is not as clear a violation to the U.N. crowd, and the second won't be. Hence the irony that U.N. inspections will soon lead to "regime protection," something quite different from the "regime change" Bush intended. Ken Adelman, deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and arms control director under President Reagan, co-hosts TechCentralStation.com, a public policy Web site. Regardless of findings, inspectors will not give U.S. approval to attack. ***************************************************************** 2 India calls for investigation of Pakistan-North Korea nuclear nexus Sify News *New Delhi, Nov 26* India Tuesday called for a thorough investigation by international regimes into the reported missile and nuclear weapons-related barter deal with Pakistan and North Korea, which, it said, had grave security implications for New Delhi. ''Latest reports about missile and nuclear-weapon-related barter deal between North Korea and Pakistan have a disturbing ring about them. Transfers of missile technology to Pakistan from North Korea have security implications for us,'' an External Affairs Ministry spokesman told reporters here. He said continued linkages between these two countries should be a matter of serious concern to the international community. ''These transfers call into question their proclaimed commitment to non-proliferation and export controls.'' Noting that these linkages went back to the 1990s, the spokesman said these had become stronger as was demonstrated by the interception of one shipment by India. ''It is not enough that accounts of such clandestine activity remain confined to newspaper reports, however well-informed,'' he added. The spokesman said ''because of the grave nature of these reports and the implication for international security, the facts need to be properly investigated.'' / UNI/ ***************************************************************** 3 US reaction ?very severe? if Pak-N Korea link proved Daily Times 11/26/02 /Staff Report/ WASHINGTON: ?If reports about Pakistan having supplied North Korea with nuclear technology in return for missiles turn out to be true, the reaction of the US government, though not necessarily immediate, would be very severe,? Ambassador Teresita Schaffer of the South Asia Programme of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told Daily Times in an interview Monday. Ms Schaffer, who has served in Pakistan and speaks fluent Urdu, said if the reports are true then ?all I can say is that it was breathtakingly foolhardy on the part of Pakistan.? She said it was ?plausible? that there was contact between the two countries. Reports of North Korea transferring missile technology to Pakistan have circulated for a long time but what is new, she pointed out, is that there was a ?quid pro quo? on the part of Pakistan in the form of centrifuge technology and uranium enrichment. She said it was her experience that when Washington received a disquieting report about a country it considered friendly, it did not react immediately but took its time to be absolutely certain about the accuracy of the allegation. She felt that the government here was ?still chewing over? what had been reported in the media. She said if the report turned out to be true, ?it would be a very serious matter.? Ms Schaffer said that while the US had come to accept the reality that both India and Pakistan were nuclear weapons states, it had strongly insisted with the two governments that there should be no spread or sharing of nuclear technology and nuclear weapons should not be used in war. She noted that the country allegedly involved in the present case with Pakistan was North Korea, one of the three states that President George Bush had categorised as the ?axis of evil.? She agreed that Pakistan?s record in the safeguarding and safekeeping of its nuclear assets and technology had been good all along. ?I would be surprised if it does turn out to have been otherwise,? she added, while repeating that the reaction in Washington would be ?very severe.? ***************************************************************** 4 UK: BNIF gives evidence to Commons Science and Technology Committee 22/11/2002 - 12:49 The British Nuclear Industry Forum (BNIF) has revealed that it gave joint evidence with BNFL to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, which is inquiring into research and development needs for a non-carbon fuel economy. The clear and unequivocal message that the industry's witnesses conveyed was that without some Government support for near term nuclear research and development, Britain could lose its nuclear option - despite the PIU report's recommendation that measures should be taken to keep it open. © 1998-2002 DeHavilland Information Services plc. All rights reserved. 020 7517 2200 Privacy ***************************************************************** 5 UK: BNIF takes trade mission to Russia to meet with key stakeholders Thu 28 Nov-02 09:32 22/11/2002 - 12:45 The British Nuclear Industry Forum (BNIF) has announced it took a trade mission to Moscow with representatives from Atkins Nuclear, BENIC, BNFL, Mitsui Babcock, Monaghans, RWE NUKEM, and Serco Assurance, in an attempt to meet with the key stakeholders in Russia and to encourage long-term relationships. BNIF stated: 'This visit was an opportunity to cover a wide agenda with key organisations and secure an overview of the Russian industry which feels more secure than it has in the past decade, and looks forward to organised nuclear submarine clean up and power reactor decommissioning.' © 1998-2002 DeHavilland Information Services plc. All rights reserved. 020 7517 2200 Privacy | Legal | Design ***************************************************************** 6 No decision from government on BE Scotsman.com Tuesday, 26th November 2002* /IAIN DEY BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT/ TRADE secretary Patricia Hewitt revealed yesterday that the government has yet to decide what will happen to stricken nuclear power giant British Energy, despite a crunch financial deadline looming just days away. At the CBI?s annual conference in Manchester, Hewitt said: "We have a very difficult situation at British Energy with that loan expiring on Friday." She added: "No decisions have been made yet, but when they are made, I will announce it to parliament. These are highly market-sensitive issues." British Energy?s controversial £650 million government bail-out package expires on Friday. Shares in the East Kilbride-based company jumped 32.5 per cent to just over 13p yesterday amid speculation that a rescue deal with state-owned nuclear operator British Nuclear Fuels will be signed before the end of the week. A debt-for-equity swap with the company?s bondholders is another option understood to be on the table to stave off administration. Ratings agency Standard & Poor?s said yesterday that the company?s bonds could be lowered to junk "D" status if either a debt-for-equity deal goes ahead or the company is placed into administration. Hewitt is expected to make her announcement to parliament on Thursday. British Energy hopes to wrap up the sale of its Canadian subsidiary Bruce Power this week - a deal which it has been estimated, could raise as much as £500 million. It is also attempting to sell off its 50 per cent share in US joint venture Amergen. But the cash injection would not be enough to secure its long-term future. Many Whitehall sources claim Chancellor Gordon Brown is reluctant to allow more taxpayers? money to be spent on the firm. The £650 million loan package received by British Energy has yet to be approved by the European Commission. Although the DTI is confident it has not broken any state-aid regulations, the lack of EC approval could prove a sticking point for a further extension to the deal. Environmental campaigners Greenpeace won the right in the High Court on Friday to challenge the legality of the loan package at a hearing in January, putting a further spanner in the works. Further reform of the energy market is expected early next year which could help British Energy. Some early indications of this could be given as part of the BE announcement. Back To Top <#top> ***************************************************************** 7 Inspectors will demonstrate neutrality and objectivity: ElBaradei First Published 2002-11-26, Last Updated 2002-11-26 13:58:43 *ElBaradei: UNMOVIC formed to avoid abuses* UN Nuke watchdog says no complacency will be shown toward anybody who exceeds his duties. CAIRO - The new UN weapons inspection mission to Iraq will avoid the "abuses" of its predecessor, the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM), the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said in remarks published here Tuesday. "The Security Council dissolved UNSCOM and formed UNMOVIC to avoid abuses. Its members are UN civil servants and it asked them to be objective and neutral," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei told Al-Ahram newspaper. UNMOVIC, the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, will work alongside the IAEA when inspections formally resume Wednesday after a four-year break. "The head of UNMOVIC (Hans Blix) and myself have said many times that we will show no complacency toward anybody who exceeds his duties, shows he is not objective or forms ties with his country or any other state," he was quoted as saying by the Egyptian government daily. "Such a person would be dismissed right away," he added. In December 1999, UNMOVIC replaced UNSCOM, which withdrew from Iraq a year earlier ahead of US and British air strikes over Iraq's alleged obstruction of its work. Iraq accused UNSCOM members of spying for Israel or the United States. "There were certain abuses by UNSCOM. It was discovered that some inspectors had sent reports to their countries, which means that UNSCOM lost a large amount of its credibility," ElBaradei said. "That forced the UN to form UNMOVIC, and there are many guarantees to ensure its neutrality and its independence and prevent a repeat of the abuses committed by UNSCOM," he said. ElBaradei, who was interviewed while in Cairo Monday to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other Egyptian and Arab officials, said the inspectors would demonstrate neutrality and objectivity. ***************************************************************** 8 Russia assures Canada Iran nuclear project for 'peaceful use' only 26-11-2002, 17:34 Russia told a top Western diplomat visiting Moscow that it had taken measures to ensure Iran could not use a Russian-built nuclear power station to produce arms. Visiting Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham said on Tuesday he had received assurances from Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev that Iran was committed to the peaceful use of nuclear technology. "(The Russians) have a vested interest in making sure this plant works in such a way that nuclear materials don't get diverted to improper purposes," Graham told reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Moscow, according to /Reuters/. He said Rumyantsev had pointed to 60 inspections of the site at Bushehr in the past two years with no evidence of illegal activity. Other assurances, he conveyed, could come from proposals to ensure spent fuel was removed and reprocessed safely outside the country. "I got very good assurances from the minister that the Russians are serious about monitoring and controlling and they'll make sure that Bushehr does not become a place for diversion of materials," he said. (Albawaba.com) © * 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com) * ***************************************************************** 9 New panel will tackle energy policy [MSNBC.com] Commission aims to find approach safe from partisan sniping By John J. Fialka THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 — A group of prominent philanthropic foundations has created a $10 million commission of former energy-policy planners from both the Bush and Clinton administrations as well as representatives from industry and environmental groups to chart a long-range energy policy. THE NATIONAL Commission on Energy Policy, which expects to present its report in two years, could pave the way for the federal government to re-examine energy policy and come up with a coherent strategy to balance energy use and environmental protection that will pass Congress. Commission Co-Chairman John W. Rowe, chairman and chief executive of Exelon Corp., which runs the nation’s largest group of nuclear-power plants, said a goal of the 18-member panel is to develop a “centrist approach” between Republicans and Democrats that will avoid the clashes that killed energy legislation in Congress this year. “We want more bridge-building and less controversy,” he said. Another goal, he said, is to “make progress” on the touchy issues of climate change and the nation’s growing dependence on imported oil “without screwing up our economy.” The commission includes John P. Holdren, a Harvard professor who drafted President Clinton’s policy on climate change, and Andrew Lundquist, a former White House adviser who wrote President Bush’s energy plan, which included drilling for oil in the Alaska wilderness. William K. Reilly, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency in the first Bush administration, is also a commission co-chairman. Other panel members are Ralph Cavanagh, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council; Archie W. Dunham, chairman of ConocoPhillips Inc.; Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers of America; F. Henry Habicht, CEO of Global Environment &Technology Foundation; Texas State Sen. Rodney Ellis; Marilyn Brown, director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program; Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors Paul L. Joskow and Mario J. Molina; Linda Stuntz, an energy and environmental lawyer and deputy secretary of energy in the first Bush administration; Susan Tierney, senior vice president of Lexecon Inc.; James Woolsey, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Clinton; and Martin B. Zimmerman, a group vice president of the Ford Motor Co. Copyright © 2002 Dow Jones &Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. "> [MSNBC News] Four Russian firms plan Arctic port [MSNBC News] CSFB e-mails link research, banking [MSNBC News] Cigna to settle lawsuit with doctors [MSNBC News] Working to design healthier hospitals [MSNBC News] War plan aims to balance old, new [MSNBC News] Thanksgiving of yore: Trap a turkey [MSNBC News] MSNBC Cover Page "> [MSNBC News] Stock market update [MSNBC News] New economic data found appetizing [MSNBC News] Retailers try to woo holiday shoppers [MSNBC News] More Web ads that don't suck [MSNBC News] Fed sees economy growing slowly [MSNBC News] MSNBC Cover Page .botnavlink {text-decoration:none; color:;} .botnavlink:visited {text-decoration:none; color:;} .top10lnk {text-decoration:none; color:#CC0000; font-weight:bold; font-size:15pt;} .top10txt {text-decoration:none; color:; font-size:8pt;} MSNBC READER'S TOP 10 Would you recommend this story to other readers? not at all 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 highly MSNBC is optimized for • Microsoft Internet Explorer • Windows Media Player • MSNBC Terms, Conditions and Privacy © 2002 Cover | News | Business | Sports | Local News | Health | Technology &Science | Living | Travel TV News | Opinions | Weather | Comics InfoCenter | Newsletters | Search | Help | News Tools | Jobs | Write Us | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Advertisement A.eSextTitle{ font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold;}A.eSextMerchant{ font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color:black;}.eSextPromo{ color: #ff6600; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;}.eSextPrice{ font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold;}.eSextSale{ font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; color: #ff6600;}.eSextMore{ font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; padding-top:3;} [Office Depot Recycled Copy Paper] Office Depot Recycled Copy Paper$28.99Office Depot More Copy paper Manuf. Adler Advcd. Agfa Aitell Alcatel Alps Alwright Anzac Apollo Apple AT&T Becks Bell Brother Bryce Burrghs. BDT BGL Calco. Canon Centron. Citizen Colossal Cmmdore Compaq Comrex Comterm Control Cycomm Data Data Pnt. Data Roy. Dataprod. Datasou. Datatech Decision Dex Bus. Diablo Digital DBTEL Epson Facit Fujitsu Genicom Grundig Harris Hermes Hewlett Honeywel Huntress Infoscr. Interface Itoh IBM IJ Tech. ITT Cour. JRL Kodak Konica Kyocera Laserma. Lee Data Lexmark Mannesm. Memorex Meonic Minolta Monroe MPI Neopost Newgen Nokia N. Atla. NCR NEC Okidata Olivetti Olympia Output OCE Panas. Pitney Prepress Prime Printek Printronix QMS Radio Sh Rena Ricoh Roland Royal Sagem Samsung Sanyo Savin Scn-Cod Seikosha Sharp Siemens Silver R. Smith C. Sony Star Micro Stielow Summa.. T/R Syst. Taneum Tektronix Teletype Telex Texas Ins. Toshiba Tritel Triumph Unisys Univac Utax Wang Xante Xerox Wall Street Journal Highlights • Four Russian firms plan Arctic port• CSFB e-mails link research, banking• Cigna to settle lawsuit with doctors• Working to design healthier hospitals Business • Dow soars 255 points; Nasdaq jumps 44• New economic data found appetizing• Retailers try to woo holiday shoppers• More Web ads that don't suck MSNBC's Top News • New economic data found appetizing• Inspectors go to work in Iraq• Modest Thanksgiving for U.S. forces• Holiday travel moving smoothly Search the Web: powered by MSN Search MSN - More Useful Everyday MSN Home | My MSN | Hotmail | Search | Shopping | Money | People & Chat ©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use Advertise Truste Approved Privacy Statement GetNetWise ***************************************************************** 10 See you in court, Tony Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Comment We should help the Iraqi people overthrow Saddam, but not by flouting international law George Monbiot Tuesday November 26, 2002 The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk] Parliament might have been denied its debate and the cabinet might have been silenced, but there are other means of holding the government to account. If, by 4pm today, his lawyers have failed to agree that he will not attack Iraq without a new UN resolution, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament will take the prime minister to court. For the first time in history, the British government may be forced to defend the legality of its war plans in front of a judge. The case, hatched by the comedian Mark Thomas, looks straightforward. The UK and the US are preparing to invade, whether or not they receive permission from the UN. Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, has stated that the UK will "reserve our right to take military action, if that is required, within the existing body of UN security council resolutions". But no UN resolution grants such a right. Last week, Matrix Chambers, the legal practice founded by the prime minister's wife, prepared a legal opinion for CND. Its findings were unequivocal: "The UK would be in breach of international law if it were to use force against Iraq... without a further security council resolution." The judge might decide that the courts don't have the authority to rule on military matters, but if she does agree to hear the case, the chances of winning are high. If CND wins, its lawyers believe it is "inconceivable" that the British government would go to war without a new resolution, as it would lose its remaining moral authority. Activists in the US are hoping to launch a similar case. If these suits did force our governments to return to the UN, they might not prevent a war with Iraq, as the security council could grant them the resolution they want. But this would not mean that the exercise was a waste of time. If the most powerful countries are permitted to wipe their feet on the UN charter with impunity, then the world will swiftly come to be governed by unmediated brute force. This is the factor which many of those liberals who support the invasion of Iraq have failed to grasp. If a war is to be accounted just, it must meet a number of conditions. Not only must it reduce the sum total of violence in the world, and improve the lives of the oppressed, but it must also be shown not to replace one form of oppression with another. It is not difficult to conceive of a just war against Iraq. We know that it is governed by one of the world's most bestial regimes, and that the lives of its people would be immeasurably improved if that regime was replaced by a democratic government. If this was indeed the purpose of an attack, if less violent means of achieving the same result had been exhausted, if it was legal and if the attacker was a nation with no recent record of expansionism and foreign aggression, which had no special interest in Iraq's resources, and whose political class was not talking of creating a "new imperium", we should support it. But none of these conditions has been met. It is plain that the US government's decision to go to war came first, its chosen target second, and its reason for attacking that country third. Everyone seems to have forgotten that the original plan, after the bombing of Afghanistan, was to attack Somalia. Iraq's weapons and the brutality of its government are the excuses used to justify the expanding "war on terror" which keeps the hawks in Washington in business. Iraq was substituted for Somalia partly because of its oil supplies and partly because it presents a more plausible target. It is also clear that there is little enthusiasm in Washington either for democracy in Iraq or for Kurdish independence. Turkey, a key western ally, is fiercely opposed to Kurdish separatism. For the past six months, the US government has been questioning the legitimacy of the Iraqi opposition movement and hinting that it might replace Saddam Hussein with another military leader. We should not, of course, ignore the possibility that the US may change its mind about the future governance of Iraq, or that a democratic revolution might be an accidental outcome of an invasion of that country. Nor should we forget that some of Iraq's oppressed peoples would welcome a war against Saddam, whoever waged it and for whatever purpose. But against their understandable enthusiasm must be weighed the global consequences of this war. Victory in Afghanistan greatly empowered the hawks in Washington, and their hunger to attack the next target could be seen as a direct consequence. If we permit the US to march into Iraq, we open the door to an overt form of world domination, backed by force of arms. It might seem callous to balance the fate of the Kurds and the Shi'ites against these concerns. But just because we do not favour an attack of the kind the US proposes does not mean that we cannot support attempts by other nations, whose record is unsullied and whose motives are unmixed, to destabilise or overthrow the regime, if their action is legal and if we know that this is the limit of their ambitions. Indeed, if we do succeed in preventing an attack by the US, we surely have a responsibility to lobby for a just means of helping the Iraqi people to depose Saddam, led by nations with no imperial ambitions. And we may find that this requires military force. But even this, more legitimate warfare might not be necessary. Troy Davis of the World Citizen Foundation has been sketching out an ingenious means of pulling the rug from beneath Saddam's feet. The UN, he proposes, should help the opposition groups based abroad and in Iraq's no-fly zones to establish a democratically elected government in exile. This government is then given the world's Iraqi embassies and the nation's frozen assets. It gradually takes control of the no-fly zones and the oil-for-food programme. Saddam would find himself both isolated diplomatically and confronted by a legitimate alternative government. It is not hard to see how his authority over his own people would be undermined, permitting him to be toppled more easily. This plan also ensures that democracy is less likely to be frustrated by the installation of a puppet regime. But if this option is tried and fails, and if war turns out to be the only means of removing Saddam, then let us support a war whose sole and incontestable purpose is that and only that; which will not stop until the people of Iraq are running their country themselves, but will stop the moment that this happens; and whose purpose is not to seize the oil wells, to support the ambitions of some of the most ruthless and dangerous people in the western world, or to overturn the norms of international law. But there will be neither a just war nor a just peace unless we stop the unjust war from being waged. Taking the government to court may be the best chance we have. www.monbiot.com [http://www.monbiot.com] [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 ***************************************************************** 11 North Korea: Now What? - Pacific Forum Program - Center For Strategic &International Studies CSIS 1800 K Street, NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006 P: 202.887.0200 F: 202.775.3199 [webmaster@csis.org] #45 October 25, 2002 by Alan D. Romberg Lawyers have a maxim: never ask a question to which you don't know the answer. Perhaps the diplomatic counterpart is never make a demand if you aren't prepared for the response. The Bush administration might have felt it had the answer to whether North Korea had a clandestine uranium enrichment program to obtain fissile material, but it appears not to have developed a position about what to do if the North owned up to that fact but failed to repent. Now that Pyongyang has done just that - and said the 1994 Agreed Framework that constrained its known nuclear program is nullified - Washington is scrambling to figure out how to respond. The first task, already under way, is to consult with our “coordination” partners, South Korea and Japan. The U.S. had made clear that substantial progress in normalizing Korean and especially Japanese relations with the DPRK must not occur until the nuclear program is appropriately dealt with. This will run smack up against the views of many in Seoul and Tokyo; both share concern over the most recent developments, but also have recently seen some rare openings in their own dealings with the North and believe that engagement is a surer path to peace and progress than confrontation. They will be torn between the imperative of maintaining alliance unity and their fear that the U.S. is leading them unnecessarily down a path that could not only stymie their own efforts but even end up in conflict. President George W. Bush clearly does not want a military confrontation with North Korea as he contemplates war with Iraq. Administration's statements have stressed the desire for a peaceful resolution. But while the North's recent penchant for true confessions with Japan (over Japanese abductees and DPRK military/spy boats in Japanese waters) is refreshing, the accompanying apologies and promises against repetition in those cases seem not to apply to the nuclear program. This doesn't mean that a negotiated outcome is impossible. Indeed, the North's approach is most explicable in terms of a bid for negotiations. This is understandable in light of the DPRK's priorities to ensure its own security as it struggles to rescue its failing economy. But mutual suspicions and hostility are very high between Pyongyang and Washington; neither is inclined to make preemptive compromises in the face of what it sees as a blatant challenge. China's role will be very important. Beijing's stand against nuclear weapons on the Peninsula and in favor of cooperative relations among all interested parties is consistent with our own. But China doesn't like to be seen as pressuring its close neighbor, from whom it just received a high-level delegation in notably comradely fashion. This, however, is not a time for China to equivocate. On other issues of importance to the U.S. ranging from Taiwan to nonproliferation and even Iraq, Beijing has seen its interest in not confronting Washington. North Korea rises to the same level of importance and will be a front-burner issue at the Oct. 25 Crawford summit. China's interest, and responsibility, is to find a way to help resolve this common problem. Washington, too, has a major responsibility not just to address the nuclear problem, but to do so in a manner that serves the interests of peace and stability in East Asia. That doesn't mean ducking-North Korea should be made to live up to its NPT obligations-but it means staying in harness with our allies, who have a parallel but not identical set of concerns and interests, and without whom no satisfactory solution will be possible. And that means being willing to engage in dialogue with the North, something it says will only be possible if the North first-unilaterally, visibly, and verifiably-dismantles its uranium enrichment program. The North has been desperately trying to get the Bush administration's attention and empathy. Having not only openly declared its nuclear program but raised questions about the status of the Agreed Framework it now has the former, though hardly the latter. (It is worth noting that a subsequent North Korean broadcast described the Agreed Framework as at a crossroads where its continued validity was in the balance. This suggests that the U.S. may have taken a typically belligerent North Korean statement-e.g. “because of all the bad things you have done the Agreed Framework is nullified”-and misconstrued it as a “declaration of nullification” that was not intended.) Surely dismantlement must take place, but the current U.S. approach is not well-designed to achieve that. Washington seems to take on faith that a stiff position, backed up by Seoul, Tokyo and perhaps Beijing and Moscow, will be enough to force Pyongyang to do the necessary. Maybe that approach will succeed. More likely, Pyongyang will react to any coordinated pressure by taking yet another step to underscore that it, too, has needs, but if those needs can be addressed, then the bazaar is open on the weapons program-indeed on all security issues of concern to the U.S. Citing the prospect of concerted pressure, Pyongyang issued a warning on October 22 that “If the U.S. persists in its moves to apply pressure and stifle the DPRK by force, the latter will have no option but to take tougher counteraction.” Overblown rhetoric is a Northern specialty, but, given the current context, this should not necessarily be taken as an idle threat. At this point, the task for both sides is to take the heightened tension that has been created and channel it into efforts that produce a win-win outcome. This is not impossible, but will require a level of imaginativeness, vision, and taking the other party seriously that, so far, has been lacking on all sides. Alan D. Romberg i is a Senior Associate at The Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, D.C. Pacific Forum 1001 Bishop Street Pauahi Tower, Suite 1150 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 ph: 808-521-6745 | fax: 808-599-8690 | email: [pacforum@hawaii.rr.com] © 2001, 2002 The Center for Strategic & International Studies ***************************************************************** 12 Pakistan's dirty nuclear deals [http://www.rnw.nl] Tuesday, 26 November, 2002 A C-130 Hercules of the type allegedly used by Pakistan for illicit trade with North Korea Pakistan has vehemently denied newspaper reports that it recently traded nuclear weapons technology with North Korea in exchange for ballistic missile components. The denials, however, have not convinced analysts, who say the illicit trade between the two nations is well-known in intelligence circles. The current furore rests on reports that, as recently as July, Pakistan flew vital nuclear weapons technology to "rogue state" North Korea in exchange for ballistic missile parts. According to the New York Times, US intelligence agencies were aware of the exchange, but Washington avoided publicly chiding Islamabad in order to maintain its support for the anti-terrorism drive. Shady deals Since the allegations were made, the US administration has acknowledged Pakistani-North Korean dealings have occurred, but says they are a thing of the past. The Pakistani foreign ministry has made no such concessions, describing its record of export control as "impeccable". Mohan Malik, an expert on international security from Honolulu University, says reports of shady Pakistani deals come as no surprise. [http://www.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/rnw/hotspots/pak021126.rm] Link: listen to correspondent Edwin Koopman interviewed by Newsline´s Perro de Jong, 3´50 [http://www.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/rnw/hotspots/pak021126.rm] Mohan Malik interviewed by Newsline´s Claire Cavanagh [http://www.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/rnw/hotspots/pak021126.rm] 3´46 "We have known for quite some time that North Korea and Pakistan have been dealing with each other . . . security agencies in the Western world have been talking about it." The allegations centre on the shipment to North Korea of gas centrifuge equipment used for creating enriched uranium, a vital component of nuclear weapons. Professor Malik says the Bush government cannot publicly acknowledge the shipment without losing a vital ally in its war on terrorism. "There's reluctance in the [Bush] administration to confront Pakistan openly and publicly because if done, it would invoke a number of US domestic laws that would lead to the imposition of sanctions." Telling detail The reported shipment was particularly galling for Washington because it was made using a US-supplied C-130 transport plane. "The US has been taken for a ride by [Pakistani President Pervez] Musharraf. He is obviously using the US need for Pakistan's cooperation in the war on terror as a shield to protect himself from sanctions and international criticism . . . General Musharraf has played a very clever game." In October, Washington revealed that North Korea had admitted to continuing working on a nuclear capacity, despite signing a 1994 treaty to end its nuclear aspirations. US intelligence agencies now claim that the outcast communist state could be as little as two years away from creating nuclear weapons. Fragile leader Professor Malik says Washington will have to be careful about applying pressure to President Musharraf, who is already struggling to maintain control over anti-American forces in his country. "There will be domestic backlash . . . this explains why the US is not taking harsh measures; for fear of destabilising the Pakistani government, which could lead to the takeover of the country by fundamentalist, pro-Taliban forces." ***************************************************************** 13 US's Kelly presses North Korea on nuclear program Reuters AlertNet - 26 Nov 2002 18:08 By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - A top U.S. diplomat, responding to North Korean demands for a non-aggression agreement with Washington, said on Tuesday it was time for Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear program, not jockey for new negotiations. "What we really need to have is action from North Korea rather than negotiations and words," Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly told Reuters. Despite various international demands for the North to abandon the nuclear program as well as a recent halt in emergency fuel oil deliveries to the North by the United States and its allies, the message does not appear to have gotten through to Pyongyang. "We're still trying to get North Korea to understand this (nuclear weapons program) is a serious problem and one they have to seriously address," Kelly said in a telephone interview. Kelly, who oversees Asia and Pacific policy, is the U.S. official to whom the North Koreans acknowleged in October their secret uranium enrichment project for making nuclear weapons, which is a violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework and other accords. Communist North Korea made an unusual appeal to South Korea last weekend, asking its old foe to help stave off U.S. pressure resulting from the nuclear dispute. Pyongyang called for a "nationwide" effort to force Washington to sign a non-aggression treaty with the North. North and South Korea are still technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty. But Pyongyang has toned down its propaganda since Kim Dae-jung became South Korean president in 1998, promoting his "sunshine policy" towards the North. NO INVASION PLANS Kelly did not rule out a non-aggression pact with the North. But he said it was a "big problem" when Pyongyang, which is already in violation of several treaties and accords because of its nuclear program, asks to negotiate a new agreement. U.S. officials have pointedly not declared the 1994 accord dead and Secretary of State Colin Powell has said the United States remained willing to help the North if it ended its nuclear project and other "destablizing" programs. Kelly noted U.S. President George W. Bush has emphasized several times "we don't have plans to invade or attack North Korea." However, Bush also has termed North Korea part of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran and threatened war against Iraq for its weapons of mass destruction program. Still, Kelly told reporters last week Pyongyang "keeps emphasizing a threat posture which simply does not exist." In the Reuters interview, Kelly said the North seems to have reduced its conditions for addressing the nuclear issue from several to one -- the non-aggression pact. And he speculated Pyongyang may be "having second thoughts about the wisdom" of admitting the nuclear program, which has greatly complicated the reclusive regime's dealings with the international community. "They may or may not be showing a different side," he said. In signing the 1994 Agreed Framework with Washington, Pyongyang promised to freeze its nuclear weapon activities. In return, the North was promised a $5 billion energy package including two light water nuclear power reactors and 500,000 tonnes annually of heavy fuel oil. Although the fuel shipments have been halted, routine construction work on the nuclear power reactors continues. At the time of the 1994 accord, the North was known to have a plutonium program that had produced enough fuel for one or two bombs. ***************************************************************** 14 NRC St. Lucie Exemption FR Doc 02-29983 [Federal Register: November 26, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 228)] [Notices] [Page 70760-70761] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26no02-83] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 50-335 AND 50-389] Florida Power and Light Company, et al. St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2; Exemption 1.0 Background The Florida Power and Light Company, et al. (FPL, the applicant) is the holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-67 and No. NPF-16, which authorize operation of St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2, respectively. The licenses provide, among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. The facility consists of two pressurized water reactors located in St. Lucie County, Florida. 2.0 Request/Action Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), part 54 addresses the various requirements for renewal of operating licenses for nuclear power plants. Section 54.21(b) of 10 CFR specifies: Each year following submittal of the license renewal application and at least 3 months before scheduled completion of the NRC review, an amendment to the renewal application must be submitted that identifies any change to the CLB [current licensing basis] of the facility that materially affects the contents of the license renewal application, including the FSAR [final safety analysis report] supplement. In accordance with 10 CFR 54.15, which references 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC staff, upon its own initiative, developed an exemption to 10 CFR 54.21(b) for St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2. At the time that 10 CFR part 54 was issued, the staff expected that its review of a license renewal application (LRA) could take three or more years. The NRC staff completed its reviews of recent LRAs in less than 20 months. The exemption would allow FPL to submit one LRA amendment during the staff's review of the application, instead of two amendments. The NRC staff anticipates completing its review of the St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2, LRA and issuing a safety evaluation report (SER) by July 3, 2003. This exemption would permit FPL to forgo submitting an annual LRA amendment provided it submits a single LRA amendment for St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2, at least three months before this scheduled completion date. 3.0 Discussion Pursuant to 10 CFR 54.15, the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 54, in accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 50.12, when (1) the exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; and (2) when special circumstances are present. The requirements for exemption are discussed below: The Commission's basis for requiring applicants to submit amendments to LRAs is contained in section 54.21(b) and is discussed in the 1991 Statements of Consideration for part 54 (56 FR 64954). The Commission established the requirement to ensure that the effects of changes to the renewal applicant's CLB is evaluated during the review of its renewal application. The exemption is consistent with the Commission's intent for the NRC staff, during its review of the application, to evaluate changes to the CLB of the facility that materially affects the contents of the LRA, including the FSAR supplement. The exemption seeks only schedular relief regarding the timing and number of amendment submittals, and not substantive relief from the requirements of parts 50, 51, or 54. FPL must still submit an LRA amendment for St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2, as required by 10 CFR part 54. Therefore, the NRC staff finds that granting this schedular exemption will not represent an undue risk to public health and safety and is consistent with the common defense and security. 3.1 Special Circumstances Supporting Issuance of the Exemption An exemption will not be granted unless special circumstances are present as defined in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2). Specifically, section 50.12(a)(2)(ii) states that a special circumstance exists when ``Application of the regulation in the particular circumstances is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule * * *'' In initially promulgating section 54.21(b) in 1991, the Commission stated that the purpose of submitting LRA amendments is ``To ensure that the effect of changes to a license renewal applicant's existing licensing basis is evaluated during the review of a renewal application, renewal applicants will be required to update the renewal application (including the integrated plant assessment) annually;'' (56 FR 64954). The Commission indicated that the changes to the CLB that could affect the results of the license renewal processes, such as, scoping, screening, and aging management reviews should be evaluated during the NRC review of the LRA. As set forth below, the applicant's submittal of a single LRA amendment would allow the NRC staff to review and document the licensing changes in its safety evaluation report (SER) for St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2. Accordingly, under the exemption, the NRC staff will have the opportunity to review the recent changes to the CLB that could affect the results of license renewal processes. The applicant submitted its LRA for St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2, to the NRC on November 29, 2001. The NRC staff is scheduled to complete its review and the SER by July 3, 2003. In accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 54.21(b), an applicant must submit a yearly LRA amendment by November 29, 2002, and a second amendment before April 3, 2003, which is three months before the NRC staff is [[Page 70761]] scheduled to complete its review and issue an SER. Consequently, the licensee is required to submit two amendments within four months. The SER with open items, which is scheduled to be issued by February 7, 2003, will identify proposed licensee commitments that change the CLB and are acceptable to the NRC. The applicant will be able to include these changes in an amendment that is submitted after the SER with open items is issued. The NRC staff can then review these changes and revise the SER, accordingly. Hence, submittal of a single amendment after the SER with open items is issued would be beneficial to the NRC staff and the licensee. Therefore, submittal of two LRA amendments to satisfy the intent of section 54.21(b) and the application of the regulation, in this case, is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. The NRC staff finds that the exemption meets the requirement in Section 50.12(a)(2)(ii) that special circumstances exist to grant the exemption. 4.0 Conclusion Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 54.15 and 10 CFR 50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security. The exemption allows the applicant to forgo submitting the annual LRA amendment provided it submits an LRA amendment at least three months before the scheduled completion of the NRC's review. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants FPL the proposed exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 54.21(b) for St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2, based on the circumstances described herein. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment (67 FR 69254). This exemption is effective upon issuance. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of November, 2002. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. David B. Matthews, Director, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 02-29983 Filed 11-25-02; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 15 UK: Nuclear tests caused cancers, court hears* /26/11/2002 - 09:18:43/ Lawyers for British, New Zealand, and Fijian military veterans who were exposed to British nuclear test blasts nearly 50 years ago today said they have scientific evidence that shows radiation from the explosions caused cancers among the men. They also claim that the exposure also resulted in hereditary diseases among the men?s families. But in a report to the New Zealand government, New Zealand scientists said they could find no clear link between the nuclear blasts in the South Pacific in the 1950s and illnesses in children of the veterans. British lawyers Mervyn Fudge and David Harris are gathering evidence of major ailments suffered by veterans exposed to the nuclear testing for a lawsuit against the British government. The two men are being paid by the British Legal Services Commission to bring a class action alleging negligence by the government on behalf of 220 New Zealand, 300 Fijian and 1,000 living former British servicemen exposed to nine nuclear blasts. The government has said all personnel involved in the tests gave informed consent and denied they were exposed to unsafe radiation levels. The lawyers told a news conference in New Zealand that scientific evidence showed that many of the cancers suffered by former servicemen, some of whom have died, were a direct result of exposure to radiation. They did not reveal further details. ?We have to prove the causation link, but we believe now the scientific evidence and the assistance of information technology is available to enable that to be proven to a court,? Mr Harris said. The lawyers hope the government will settle the action by the veterans before it reaches court. But today, New Zealand veterans? affairs minister George Hawkins said a report by the Wellington School of Medicine concluded there was ?no clear association? between the medical problems of the children of South Pacific nuclear test veterans and their parents? service. In compiling the report, the school reviewed existing research and ?interpreted that in a New Zealand context?, principal investigator Debbie McLeod said. It conducted no new studies. © Thomas Crosbie Media, 2002. IRISH NEWS ***************************************************************** 16 About Gulf War illnesses Beacon Journal | 11/26/2002 | • Does Persian Gulf Syndrome or Gulf War Syndrome exist? The government says that although many veterans are sick, there is no single disease or unique medical condition that affects them. The National Gulf War Resource Center in Silver Spring, Md., and other veterans groups maintain that servicemen and women were sickened by Iraqi chemical and biological agents, pesticides, vaccines and parasites. • What are the symptoms? Everything from fatigue to skin rash, headache, muscle and joint pain, memory loss, sleep disturbances, tremors, speech difficulty and chest pain. Some veterans have multiple symptoms. Some have none. • What is the Gulf War Registry? The Department of Veterans Affairs offers free physical examinations with basic lab tests to Gulf War veterans, healthy or sick. The findings are consolidated to try to find clues to the illnesses that affect some veterans. More than 75,000 vets have taken part in the program. • Where are Gulf War veterans treated? Usually at local VA medical centers. If symptoms are complex, sometimes veterans are referred to one of four special VA Gulf War referral centers. • Is the government conducting studies of the illnesses? About 200 federally funded projects have been started and some are completed. Researchers are considering such possible causes of illness as chemical and biological warfare agents, pesticides, microwaves, vaccinations, infections, chemicals, pesticides and depleted uranium, which was used in manufacturing projectiles and armor during the Gulf War. • How can a Persian Gulf veteran or family members get more information? To get on the mailing list for the VA's Gulf War Review, write VACO, Gulf War Review, Environmental Agents Service (131), 810 Vermont Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C., 20420. Other information is available through the 1-800-749-8387 help line. For details or to file for disability, contact the Veterans Service Commission. Every Ohio county has one. -- CAROL BILICZKY ***************************************************************** 17 Science will prove nuclear test link with sickness – lawyers Zealand's leading news and information website © Independent Newspapers Limited [http://www.inl.co.nz] 2002. 26 November 2002 Two British lawyers are hoping the British Government will compensate New Zealand nuclear test veterans and their families before their multi-million lawsuit reaches court. The 551 New Zealand veterans made up the ships' companies of two New Zealand frigates, HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS Rotoiti, when the ships sailed through radioactive clouds during British nuclear bomb tests in 1957 and 1958 at the Malden and Christmas Islands. Since then many have died and many have contracted cancers and other illnesses, which the New Zealand Nuclear Test Veterans Association said were a direct result of exposure to radiation. British lawyers Mervyn Fudge and David Harris are being paid by the British Legal Services Commission to take a class action for negligence against the British Government on behalf New Zealand Fijian and British servicemen who were exposed to radiation from nine nuclear blasts. The lawyers were brought to New Zealand by the Test Veterans Association and were due to meet test veterans in Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North to gather medical evidence. Of the original 551 veterans only 220 are still alive. The two lawyers told a media conference in Auckland today scientific advances had allowed them to be confident many of the cancers the former servicemen had contracted or died from, were a direct result of the radiation. "The British Government has vehemently denied any liability so far but we believe science is such now that that denial will not be able to stand," Mr Fudge said. The class action is likely to be on behalf of more than 1000 former British servicemen still living, about 300 from Fiji and 220 from New Zealand. The action could cost the British Government millions of pounds although neither man today would say how much each of the veterans was likely to receive. However, Mr Fudge said they hoped when the evidence was presented to the British Government, it would settle out of court. Mr Harris said the biggest hurdle would be convincing the British Government on the accepted legal standard of the "balance of probabilities," that cancers were caused by radiations. "We have to prove the causation link but we believe now the scientific evidence and the assistance of information technology is available to enable that to be proven to a court," Mr Harris said. They said they hoped to have collated enough scientific evidence by next year to convince the British Government that the radiation caused the sicknesses. "Our gut feeling is that this is a case that cries out for an out of court settlement. We have no desire to drag our veterans through the courts. The public awareness and the public outcry which is already there is going to gather pace. "These are gentlemen in their later years of life and families who have suffered for a long time," Mr Harris said. "If we can get sufficient evidence this is a case no Government is going to want to fight," Mr Fudge said. "But we have to be prepared to litigate," Mr Harris said. ***************************************************************** 18 Gulf vets fight a different battle Beacon Journal | 11/26/2002 | Local veterans detail illnesses, frustrations felt over last 10 years By Carol Biliczky Beacon Journal staff writer Mitchell Lambert came back from the Persian Gulf War with lasting souvenirs -- rashes, lumps, headaches and seizures. He's convinced that those symptoms relate to the four months he spent serving his country in the Mideast more than a decade ago. ``We unfortunately were exposed to a little bit more dangerous stuff than what we should have been,'' the 30-year-old Medina County resident said. But Lambert, like thousands of other veterans, has found that the federal government, at worst, disagrees and, at best, is simply fumbling to find a link between service in the Gulf War and a host of medical disorders. More than a third of the 700,000 active-duty and reserve U.S. veterans who served in the Gulf War say they suffered health problems from their service in 1990 and 1991 and have filed claims for disability payments. In about 20,000 of those cases, the veterans' illnesses can't be explained. With the country on the cusp of going back to war in the Mideast, the mystery illnesses take on added urgency -- particularly because the United States is no closer to understanding the cause now than it was a decade ago. More than 200 government-funded studies costing $200 million have failed to uncover a link between service in the Gulf War and veterans' health, although one small study found that deployed veterans were twice as likely to contract amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, as nondeployed vets. And although unexplained illnesses affect Gulf veterans, they also affect the citizenry at large -- people whose closest link to sand was a beach. The answers are few and far between. ``We do not have scientific evidence that this-and-this would cause a syndrome, across the board, over time,'' says Jim Benson, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. That's little comfort to those whose lives were torn apart by months spent in the Mideast. ``Most of us came down with some kind of diarrhea and headaches,'' says vet Bob Toth of Canton, who heads the Stark County Veterans Service Commission. ``It's improved vastly, but it lingers.'' Unexplained symptoms Lambert served as an Army cavalry scout in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. When he returned home to Lafayette Township, he came down with bronchitis, pneumonia, open and oozing rashes, grainy vision, muscle spasms and tremors. ``The other day,'' he says, ``we went to the zoo with the kids and, all of a sudden, my heart started to act funny. There was this piercing, painful sensation in the back of my head for just five minutes, and the arrhythmia was much greater than it normally is.'' He's convinced that his medical problems stem from things he was exposed to during the Gulf War: a fire at a motor pool of vehicles carrying depleted uranium, smoke from oil well fires and Iraqi mustard gas drums. A married father of two, Lambert works as a technician for a medical services company. He is often sick and worries about the future. ``I can deal with my shoulder,'' he said, referring to an injury he suffered during training in Germany. ``But this other stuff -- there's nothing I can do with it. It's -- I don't know -- a very difficult position to be in.'' The VA is paying Lambert on two disability claims -- for the shoulder injury and for headaches that may stem from the shoulder complaint. He's asked for compensation for other disabilities, too -- for more than 40 lumps that cover his legs, throat and arms and for post-traumatic stress disorder. He has yet to hear from the government on either of those claims. Mental, physical fallout When 33-year-old Akron veteran David Reed returned home after seven months in Saudi Arabia, he no longer felt strong enough to practice tae kwon do, in which he has a black belt. And his happy, sociable temperament was gone. ``You could have hit me over the head with a 2-by-4 and I might have said something,'' said Reed, who works as a bus driver. ``Now, you look at me and it might set me off.'' The VA sent him to a counselor and a psychiatrist. When he blew up at a supervisor at work, his employer sent him to anger-management classes and suspended him for four days. Then there are the ``real wrenching stomachaches -- like someone's grabbed ahold of your stomach and is wringing it out like a wash cloth,'' Reed says. His vomiting, diarrhea, fevers and achy joints have worsened over time. The VA agreed that Reed has an undiagnosed illness and approved his claim at 0 percent. That means he doesn't get any money for that illness now, but that could change if the symptoms worsen. To add insult to injury, he went to the Mideast with a full head of hair and came back without it. The VA told him that male pattern baldness was to blame. Reed doesn't think so. ``It's not natural for a 21-year-old man to lose his hair,'' he says. Complaints aren't new Complaints like Reed's and Lambert's aren't new. They've surfaced at other times, in other wars. ``There's this cluster of people who come back with symptoms that the medical community can't diagnose,'' says Phil Budahn, another VA spokesman. But in the early '90s, servicemen and women came back to a greater galaxy of benefits and more know-how about how to access them. ``Many World War II soldiers came back, maybe missing a leg,'' Benson says. ``But they didn't expect much, and they didn't ask for much from their government.'' The Gulf War illnesses have turned into a decadelong nightmare for the government -- one it doesn't want to encounter again and one it never envisioned in the first place. ``We weren't expecting this,'' says Dr. Francis O'Donnell, a medical research consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, which oversees the health care of the armed forces. He says the military tried to guard against the Mideast's known threats, such as malaria and sand fly fever, and did a good job in controlling those diseases. And the government has made some changes since the war. There are now research sites devoted to Gulf War illnesses and registries to track veterans' symptoms. And VA policy has been improved to provide free health care for two years after discharge to combat veterans who have served since November 1998. If the United States goes back to war in the Persian Gulf, O'Donnell says, the Defense Department will put more emphasis on educating soldiers about the environmental threats they face and on ways to protect themselves -- everything from using insect repellant to chlorinating water to wearing their uniforms the proper way to fend off biting insects. Before deployment, the government will do more environmental surveillance to make sure troops aren't exposed to unknown or unremedied hazards. O'Donnell says servicemen and women will be told what -- if any -- hazards are found so they won't be plagued later by lingering doubts about unknown dangers. Wary of return to Gulf Even though their military careers are over, many Gulf War veterans are wary about the United States going back to the Persian Gulf again. One is Toth, who heads Stark's veterans commission. He suffered a 10 percent hearing loss in one ear because he lived too close to huge generators that thundered without stop for eight months in Saudi Arabia. Toth, now 55, says he wouldn't want to return to the sand, the heat and the worry about what the next day would bring. He fervently wishes the veterans' medical complaints were resolved once and for all. But he's glad he served when he did. ``You trust in your government, you do your duty, you don't question it,'' he says. ``You just hope you're in that number of people who return -- and return healthy.'' Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com [cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com] ***************************************************************** 19 Studies barely scratch surface of Gulf War's toll on health KRT Wire | 11/26/2002 | [centredaily.com - The centredaily home page] BY JOHN SIMERMAN Knight Ridder Newspapers WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - KRT NEWSFEATURES (KRT) - James Taylor of Pacheco, Calif., can't say just what turned him from an ultra-fit Marine combat swim instructor to a disabled asthmatic with chronic bronchitis whose severe attacks prompt frequent scrambles to the emergency room. Whatever it was, Taylor traces it to the Persian Gulf, where he served before returning home in 1991 with breathing problems and horrible coughing fits. "When we got there we didn't have biological equipment. We had second-rate gas masks, no chem or bio suits," said Taylor, now 35. "You throw that in with botulism shots, pills for nerve agents and blood agents, anthrax … I'm not a scientist. I can't say for sure." Like many veterans who have been denied a recognized link between their unexplained symptoms and service in the Persian Gulf, Taylor wonders if U.S. military leaders will take the war's lessons to heart as the Bush administration readies a new attack on Iraq. Pentagon officials say they have. Missteps during the gulf war have prompted a renewed focus on soldier health, as military leaders contemplate a new kind of warfare, and an Iraqi government armed with untold chemical and biological weapons. Among the lapses of 11 years ago, federal officials acknowledge inadequate protective gear, excessive false readings from chemical sensors, mismanagement of medical records and poor administration of a stew of vaccines and inoculations. Vaccine shortages left many soldiers without, while others took far too much. Some received the anthrax vaccine without knowing. Who and how many is unknown because of bad record-keeping. "We didn't know what we were going up against," Taylor said. "They really don't have an excuse this time." Concerns from the gulf war drove the Pentagon to launch a major "Force Health Protection" initiative to safeguard soldiers. Congress in 1997 weighed in with a law demanding that soldiers undergo health screenings before, during and after they deploy. The Defense Department now has better gas masks and protective suits, decontamination units and chemical detection equipment, and the services have developed better training to prevent chemical, biological and radiation exposure. Yet problems persist. The General Accounting Office, while acknowledging advances since the gulf war, recently found that the Pentagon lost track of as many as 250,000 defective chemical-warfare suits and that defense officials have no solid strategy for low-level exposures to chemical agents. Medical panels and a presidential committee on gulf war illnesses recommended several measures to protect the health of soldiers. But a report two years ago by the Institute of Medicine found the response lacking. "The most important recommendations remain unimplemented despite the compelling rationale for urgent action," the report found. A major problem is tracking soldier movement and maintaining health records that can be accessible to military and private doctors when soldiers return home. Earlier this year, the Department of Defense created a new directorate to oversee those efforts. "We've made some good strides, but we really need to do a much better job of keeping medical records, making sure vaccinations are given before we get into theater," said Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of the Defense Department's Deployment Health Support Directorate. Kilpatrick said the Pentagon now sends advance teams to sample air, water and ground before operations move into an area. In Afghanistan, Special Forces use Palm Pilots to keep medical records, he said. During the gulf war, many paper records disappeared. Gulf war veterans groups remain skeptical. They have spent years fighting for health care, battling the Pentagon for information and demanding recognition and funding of research that seeks to explain why some soldiers fell ill, while others who fought alongside them remained healthy. Gulf war veterans are divided over a new foray into Iraq, said Steve Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center. "Those who aren't sick say 'Let's go back and finish the job,'" said Robinson, a former Army Ranger. "If they know someone who is sick or are sick themselves, they are very leery of going back to fight what will certainly be a chemical and biological war." The federal government has spent more than $120 million studying possible causes of the mysterious conditions reported by gulf war veterans, including fatigue, muscle pain, memory loss, sleep disorders, respiratory trouble and other chronic illnesses. Gulf war veterans complain of symptoms at more than twice the rate as those who did not serve there, defense officials say. But they have reported only one scientific link -- a recent finding that veterans who served in the Persian Gulf region are at greater risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, a rare and fatal neurological illness. The reason is unclear. On Oct. 31, the Department of Veterans' Affairs said it would more than double research funding for gulf war illnesses. The announcement came after a British study, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, found that gulf war illnesses were not stress-related psychiatric disorders. Some research points to neurological damage. An advisory committee in June estimated that between 25 percent and 30 percent of the 700,000 U.S. veterans who served in the gulf war are now ill. More than 8,000 have died. By comparison, 148 troops were killed in action, and fewer than 500 were wounded in the Persian Gulf region during the war. "It was the anti-Vietnam War. It was the clean victory. The problem was, you could be injured from more than bullets and bombs," said Robinson. "Science is just now catching up." Veterans point to a host of possible causes for their illnesses. Among them are smoke from oil fires set by the Iraqis; depleted uranium used in U.S. ammunition; vaccines and inoculations, including an anthrax vaccine and an experimental botulism vaccine; and sarin nerve gas exposure from the destruction of weapons at an Iraqi munitions depot. "To have so many possibilities on the table is just medically not a tenable situation," Kilpatrick said. "We need to have that baseline information, to say what we can rule out, even if we're not able to diagnose a disease and recognize symptoms." More difficult, he said, is changing a culture in which military planning trumps health care. "The biggest obstacle clearly is the demands of the battlefield. We have to find a happy medium." The task is more urgent, with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's apparent readiness to deploy chemical or biological agents in battle, regardless of the impact on his own fighters, said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations. Shays, who led congressional hearings on gulf war illnesses, has criticized the Pentagon's insistence that hazardous exposure levels were not enough to sicken the troops. "The military's the military. When they go into battle, they don't always keep the best medical records and so on," he said. "But there's no illusion about the environment we're sending our soldiers in. Battlefields are always toxic. In this case, beyond toxic, you may have chemical and biological agents." One of the biggest problems during the gulf war were false alarms from tightly calibrated chemical sensors. Soldiers didn't know what was real, said Dr. Bernard Rostker, the Pentagon's top official for gulf war illnesses during the Clinton administration. "They were basically useless," said Rostker of the sensors. "There are new sets of alarms, much more sensitive." Rostker, who said he spent four years "trying the damnedest to pin (gulf war veterans' illnesses) to something," said the changes hold promise. "We're better prepared than we were, and we're much more sensitive to the fact, 'Pay me now or pay me later,'" Rostker said. "Whether you learn enough, God knows. I hope we don't have to prove it." © 2002, Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.). Visit the Contra Costa Times on the Web at http://www.bayarea.com [http://www.bayarea.com] . ***************************************************************** 20 Researchers see solid-state Geiger counter costing $10 EE Times - By R. Colin Johnson [rcj@spiritone.com] EE Times [http://www.eetimes.com] November 25, 2002 (4:58 p.m. EST) MANHATTAN, Kansas — Gallium arsenide diodes are being used to build real-time nuclear-radiation detectors that their inventors promise will be as small and cheap as today's non-real-time "dosimeter" badges. The button-size single-chip detectors will give on-the-spot readings of radiation levels, as Geiger counters do, but without the Geiger counters' expense and heft. In the current version, a round gallium arsenide sensor chip outputs a pulse for every 13th radioactive particle it encounters. A model on the drawing board would sense every fifth thermal neutron and cost roughly $10. "My ultimate goal is to increase the efficiency of our detector to 30 percent. At that level, we will be seriously competing with all the different types of detectors that are out there already, except that ours will only cost between $10 and $40," said professor Douglas McGregor at Kansas State University here. McGregor co-invented the diode with Raymond Klann, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne, Ill.). Radioactive materials have excess neutrons in their nuclei, making their isotope state heavier than their normal state. Over time the extra neutrons are expelled by the radioactive isotope as high-energy particles — thermal neutrons. The high-energy neutrons irreversibly damage the body's tissues, and the damage from exposure is cumulative. To manage the problem, personnel working in proximity to nuclear materials wear dosimeters — badges that must be sent in for processing to determine the level and duration of exposure. Such a non-real-time approach was acceptable when it was assumed that any accidental exposure would be low-level. But the threat of nuclear terrorism has raised the possibility of quick, higher-level overexposures from such sources as "dirty" bombs, contamination of the mail or even contamination of water and air supplies. The only way to monitor levels in real-time today is to use a Geiger counter the size of a lunch box, but such instruments are typically designed to be used under the supervision of trained personnel and do not monitor personal exposure in the way that a dosimeter does. Geiger counters depend on a column of gas that is about a foot long and an inch in diameter, and they require a high-voltage power source of up to 5,000 volts, making them bulky and expensive. "We want to make it easier to detect weapons of mass destruction — in particular, nuclear weapons. When fully developed, our neutron detectors could assist international weapons inspections in Iraq or prevent entry of nuclear materials at our borders," said McGregor. The McGregor-Klann GaAs-based neutron detectors have been nine years in the making. The long lead time wasn't considered a problem until late last year. "We are getting a lot more interest from industry and the national labs since Sept. 11," McGregor said. While Klann at Argonne National Labs has secured most of the project's funding to date, McGregor said, "Now other National Laboratories are interested, and even some commercial companies are starting to feel the urgency to develop cheap, real-time nuclear detectors." Efficiency strides The upside of traditional gas-column detectors is that they are almost 100 percent efficient, detecting virtually every single emitted neutron. Solid-state detectors, by contrast, have always been low-efficiency and hence have never been commercialized. The typical 0.5 percent efficiency of solid-state detectors would require 200 neutrons for every pulse, making them too insensitive for practical use. But McGregor and Klann have slowly improved the efficiency of their design from 0.5 percent to more than 13.5 percent for the current prototype. The next goal is 20 percent efficiency — not quite the 30 percent that has been the grail for solid-state sensors, but it's probably good enough to address the new terrorism threats. "There are many terrorist threats that our detectors could alleviate," McGregor said. "For instance, we don't want our stockpiles of nuclear materials and weapons falling into terrorists' hands, so if we put detectors within [those items'] vicinity we could monitor any change in the amount of neutrons being emitted in real-time. Any alteration in the expected number could set off an alarm and prevent the theft." Over the years, the two scientists have developed a portfolio of detectors, ranging from models requiring up to 50 V of external power down to a fully self-powered model. What all have in common is a GaAs architecture that converts impinging thermal neutrons into pulses that can be counted. "The power supply requirements range from 50 V down to 1 V, which we use to reverse-bias the diode. But I have built some detectors that are actually self-biased," said McGregor. "They operate from their own internal potentials, so you need not apply any external voltage to them at all." The diode is virtually the entire device, covering most of the 6-mm diameter of the detector. The design starts with a grounded n-type GaAs substrate with a high-purity active GaAs layer. Next is a p+ Schottky barrier layer, which is connected to an integrating preamplifier. This structure is the surface diode that conducts the pulses generated by impinging neutrons. The layer that turns the diode into a detector is a neutron-reactive boron coating (some models use lithium instead of boron) on the surface diode. When a thermal neutron hits the boron film, it is absorbed and splits a boron nucleus into charged particles. One of the particles, an alpha particle (a high-speed helium nucleus), causes a pulse to be produced by the GaAs diode when it excites millions of electrons. The electrons form a diode current, which is integrated into a pulse. As is the case with Geiger counters, there is one pulse per neutron. Pulses can be counted and displayed on a lapel-sized readout after being "normalized" by dividing by the efficiency. "We can make anywhere between 50 and 100 of these devices on a wafer," said McGregor. Millions of holes The inventors improved the efficiency of the detector via micromachining techniques, rather than a new architecture or new materials formulations. "The problem we encountered was that film stress limited the amount of boron film we could put on the diode, thereby limiting the efficiency of the device," McGregor said. "We finally solved that problem by etching millions of tiny holes — on the order of 3 microns in diameter — over the surface of the diode. Now, when we apply a thick, multicoated film, we get a 27x increase in efficiency." McGregor said he knows of one lab that has published a design with 7 percent efficiency, but he is confident that his team's nine years of experimentation will keep it ahead of the competition. The team's next-generation device will vary the configuration of the perforations on the top layer of the diode in an attempt to increase the efficiency further. "We have some ideas about how to get to 30 percent in just a few years," said McGregor. By then, he predicts, some early adopters will be designing nuclear detectors using the team's GaAs sensor chips. Eventually, he predicts a very thin, compact badge, small enough to be worn on a lapel, would marshal a little circuitry and a watch battery to read out the exact number of thermal neutrons encountered by the wearer. [http://www.eet.com ***************************************************************** 21 County to give KI pills to businesses within 10 miles of Oyster Creek plant Ocean County News: The Press of Atlantic City November 26, 2002 By DEREK HARPER Staff Writer, (609) 978-2015 TOMS RIVER - The Ocean County Health Department next month will distribute potassium iodide pills to businesses within 10 miles of the Oyster Creek Generating Station. At two locations next month, the county will offer the pills for employers inside that radius, as well as residents. In southern Ocean County, the 10-mile border roughly includes Stafford, Barnegat, Ocean and Lacey townships on the mainland, as well as Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Surf City and parts of Long Beach Township. Potassium iodide, or KI, pills are effective in case of an accidental radioactive release. They flood the thyroid gland with iodine, preventing the absorption of radioactive iodine and possibly staving off cancer or other long-term effects. The pills must be taken quickly following the announcement of an accident. The state was given 722,000 KI pills from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission earlier this year. A series of distributions have put many of them in the hands of residents and schools. When they pick up KI pills from the county, the employers will be asked to store them in a secure, centrally located room with moderate temperatures and low humidity. Once they get the pills, the county wants the businesses to give their employees information on the pills, including potential side effects and what employee medical conditions would make taking the pills unwise. Employers also need to develop a plan to get the pills to their employees quickly. Employees, for their part, will need to give their employer written consent that they want the pills. The two locations also will offer pills to residents on the same day: + Dec. 5 at the Southern Ocean County Resource Center; Recovery Road, Manahawkin. 9 to 10 a.m., residents; 10 to 11:30 a.m., employers. + Dec. 19 at the Ocean County Health Department, 175 Sunset Ave., Toms River. 9to 10 a.m., residents; 10 to 11:30 a.m., employers. ***************************************************************** 22 Occupational Exposure to Beryllium; Request for Information FR Doc 02-29984 [Federal Register: November 26, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 228)] [Proposed Rules] [Page 70707-70712] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26no02-25] DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration 29 CFR Part 1910 [Docket No. H005C] RIN 1218-AB76 Occupational Exposure to Beryllium; Request for Information AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Department of Labor. ACTION: Request for information. SUMMARY: OSHA requests information and comment on issues related to occupational exposure to beryllium, including current employee exposures to beryllium; the relationship between exposure to beryllium and the development of adverse health effects; exposure assessment and monitoring methods; exposure control methods; employee training; medical surveillance for adverse health effects related to beryllium exposure; and other pertinent subjects. The information received in response to this document will assist the Agency in determining an appropriate course of action regarding occupational beryllium exposure. DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates: Hard copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or sent) by February 24, 2003. Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be sent by February 24, 2003. (Please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional information on submitting comments.) ADDRESSES: Regular mail, express delivery, hand-delivery, and messenger service: You must submit three copies of your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. H005C, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., EST. Facsimile: If your comments, including any attachments, are 10 pages or fewer, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-1648. You must include the docket number of this document, Docket No. H005C, in your comments. Electronic: You may submit comments, but not attachments, through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov/ [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://ecomments.osha.gov/] . (Please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional information on submitting comments.) FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General Information and press inquiries--Bonnie Friedman, Director, OSHA Office of Public Affairs, Room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-1999. Technical Information--Amanda Edens, OSHA Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Room N-3718, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-2093. Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice, as well as news releases and other relevant documents, are available at OSHA's webpage at http://www.osha.gov [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.osha.gov] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: [[Page 70708]] I. Submission of Comments on This Notice and Internet Access to Comments and Submissions You may submit comments in response to this document by (1) hard copy, (2) fax transmission (facsimile), or (3) electronically through the OSHA webpage. Please note that you cannot attach materials such as studies or journal articles to electronic comments. If you have additional materials, you must submit three copies of them to the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments by name, date, subject and docket number so we can attach them to your comments. Because of security-related problems there may be a significant delay in the receipt of comments by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 for information about security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by express delivery, hand delivery and messenger service. All comments and submissions will be available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the above address. Comments and submissions posted on OSHA's Web site will be available at http://www.osha.gov [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.osha.gov] . OSHA cautions you about submitting personal information such as social security numbers and birth dates. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 for information about materials not available through the OSHA web page and for assistance in using the web page to locate docket submissions. II. Background Properties and uses. Beryllium has unique characteristics that make it a superior material for certain specialized applications. Compared to other metals, beryllium is very light, has a high melting point, low electrical conductivity, superior strength and stiffness, high thermal conductivity, and high resistance to corrosion. In addition, it is also transparent to X-rays, absorbs neutrons, and is non-magnetic. Beryllium is used in several forms: as a pure metal, as beryllium oxide, and as an alloy with copper, aluminum, magnesium, or nickel. Until recently, the primary demand for beryllium came from the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, where the metal was important in the development of nuclear weapons and in applications for the nuclear power industry. However, the use of beryllium has become more widespread in general industry, both in the manufacture of products containing beryllium and the salvage of materials containing beryllium. For example, because of its lightness and strength, beryllium and beryllium alloy are used by the aerospace industry in the manufacture of high performance military aircraft, satellites, rocketry and the space shuttle. Beryllium and beryllium alloy are also used in X-ray machines and high-speed computers. Beryllium alloy is used by manufacturers of electrical components to make springs, switches, and other parts that are used in automotive, computer, telecommunication, and other industries. Additional alloy applications include tubing for oil and gas drilling; tool and die making and other mold-making; jewelry; golf clubs; and non-sparking tools. Beryllium oxide is used as a substrate for circuits in computer manufacture and in industries that produce lasers or traveling-wave tubes, automotive ignition systems, radar, microwave systems, and in other electronic and opto-electronic markets. Processes that create employee exposure in these industries typically involve machine shop, metalworking, and finishing processes, such as machining, sanding, stamping, grinding, crushing, lapping, and sintering. Beryllium is also present in other industries that do not intentionally produce or process the metal. Examples of such activities include abrasive blasting operations, where coal or copper slag is used as a substitute for sand; spot or seam welding of specialized beryllium-copper electrodes; welding processes, where beryllium is in the electrode, in the flux or rod, or in the substrate alloy being fabricated; and recycling metals and other materials from computers and electrical products. Health Risks Associated With Occupational Exposure to Beryllium and Its Compounds Some workers exposed to beryllium or beryllium compounds may develop beryllium sensitization, chronic beryllium disease (CBD, also sometimes known as berylliosis), lung cancer, or skin disease (Ex. 4- 1). Acute beryllium disease, a pneumonitis resulting from high beryllium exposure, is now considered rare (Ex. 4-9). Inhalation appears to be the primary route of exposure to beryllium. However, dermal contact can result in a beryllium-related skin disease characterized by a rash, or wart-like bumps (Ex. 4-15). Questions have been raised regarding the contribution of dermal exposure, ingestion, and genetic factors to the risk of sensitization and CBD. (e.g., Exs. 4-2 and 4-14). Chronic Beryllium Disease CBD primarily affects the lungs. Inhalation of beryllium dust appears to be the primary route of exposure in CBD. Research indicates that beryllium exposure causes some workers to become sensitized, which may result in the formation of granulomas (inflammatory cells surrounding beryllium particles) in the lung that reduce oxygen exchange (Ex. 4-15). Proliferation of granulomas leads to additional symptoms of CBD, such as dry cough, chest pain, weakness, fatigue and progressive shortness of breath (Ex. 4-9). Progression of the disease may lead to weight loss, acrocyanosis (blueness or pallor of the extremities usually associated with pain and numbness), and eventually, heart failure. The clinical course of CBD is considered highly variable; because the disease may develop slowly over time, workers may have the disease for years without knowing it. With progression, CBD is sometimes fatal. (Ex. 4-10). The amount or length of exposure to beryllium necessary to cause a specific individual to develop CBD is not known, but recent information suggests that even short exposures to levels of beryllium below OSHA's Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 2 [mu]g/m3 averaged over an 8-hour day may lead to CBD in some workers (Exs. 4-5, 4-7, and 4-8). CBD may develop within months after initial exposure to beryllium or may have a very slow onset and not develop for 25 years or more and may even develop after exposure has ceased (Ex. 4-9). The prevalence of CBD among beryllium exposed workers has been reported to range from an average of about 2% to a high of approximately 15% for workers involved in machining operations in the manufacture of beryllium products (Exs. 4-5, 4-6, and 4-8). Measurement of exposure to total airborne beryllium dust may not be the best predictor of CBD. Particle size, surface area, number of particles, solubility, and the chemical form of beryllium involved may all be relevant to the development of disease. It has been suggested that development of disease may be more closely correlated with the mass or number of particles deposited in the alveolar regions of the lung than with total dust exposure (Exs. 4-4 and 4-11). Only workers who have developed sensitization to beryllium are believed to develop CBD. Following sensitization, CBD can develop with or without additional exposure (Ex. 4-13). Lang (Ex. 4-10) estimates that the probability of developing CBD following [[Page 70709]] sensitization is approximately 10% per year and that about half of those sensitized will go on to develop pulmonary granulomas within three to four years. Similarly, Newman (Ex. 4-13) reported that almost 50% of a beryllium-sensitized follow-up group of 44 subjects developed CBD within 4 years of becoming sensitized. The Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Test (BeLPT) can identify employees who are sensitized to beryllium. Sensitized individuals are typically further evaluated by biopsy, high resolution computerized tomography, or other means, such as the exercise tolerance test or bronchoalveolar lavage, to determine if they have CBD. Diagnosis of CBD depends on demonstration of pathologic changes such as granulomas in the lungs, along with evidence that these changes are the result of hypersensitivity to beryllium (e.g., positive BeLPT results) (Exs. 4-15 and 4-19). Lung Cancer The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies beryllium and beryllium compounds as carcinogenic to humans (Ex. 4-3). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health classifies beryllium and beryllium compounds as a ``potential occupational carcinogen'' (Ex. 4-12). The Environmental Protection Agency classifies beryllium and beryllium compounds as a ``probable human carcinogen'' (Ex. 4-18). Recent epidemiological studies have reported excess lung cancer deaths among beryllium-exposed employees (Exs. 4-16 and 4-17). A variety of beryllium metal alloys, compounds, and ores have also been shown to cause lung cancer in rats and monkeys in inhalation and intratracheal instillation studies (Exs. 4-3 and 4-18). Occupational health regulation of beryllium exposure. The first occupational exposure limit for beryllium was set in 1949 by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The AEC required that beryllium exposure in the workplaces under its jurisdiction be limited to 2 [mu]g/m\3\ as an 8-hour time-weighted-average (TWA) and 25 [mu]g/m\3\ as a peak exposure, never to be exceeded. In 1971, OSHA adopted, under Section 6(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and made applicable to general industry, a national consensus standard (ANSI Z37.29-1970) for beryllium and beryllium compounds. The standard sets a PEL for beryllium and beryllium compounds at 2 [mu]g/m\3\ as an 8-hour TWA; 5 [mu]g/m\3\ as an acceptable ceiling concentration; and 25 [mu]g/m\3\ as an acceptable maximum peak above the acceptable ceiling concentration for an 8-hour shift. (29 CFR Part 1910.1000; Table Z-2). In 1975, OSHA proposed a new beryllium standard for all industries based on information that beryllium caused cancer in animal experiments (40 FR 48814 (10/17/75)). Adoption of this proposal would have lowered the 8-hour TWA exposure limit from 2 [mu]g/m\3\ to 1 [mu]g/m\3\. In addition, the proposal included provisions for exposure monitoring, hygiene facilities, medical surveillance, and training related to the health hazards from beryllium exposure. This rulemaking was never completed. Based upon information showing that OSHA's current PEL of 2 [mu]g/ m\3\ may not be adequate to protect workers from developing CBD, OSHA placed beryllium on its Regulatory Agenda in 1998. In 1999, the Department of Energy issued a Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Final Rule for employees exposed to beryllium in its facilities, setting an action level of 0.2 [mu]g/m\3\. This action level triggers workplace precautions and control measures. (DOE, 10 CFR part 850) In 1999, OSHA was petitioned by the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) (Ex. 1-1) and by Dr. Lee Newman and Ms. Margaret Mroz, from the National Jewish Medical Research Center (Ex. 1-2), to promulgate an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for beryllium in the workplace. In 2001, OSHA was petitioned for an ETS by Public Citizen Health Research Group and again by PACE (Ex. 1-10). OSHA denied the petitions. III. Key Issues On Which Comment Is Requested The control of occupational exposures to beryllium and its compounds presents a number of complex issues. OSHA is seeking information, data, and comment that the Agency can use to address these issues. OSHA has included these questions to provide a basis for response to this general request for information. When answering specific numbered questions below, key your responses to the number of the question, explain the reasons supporting your views, and identify and provide relevant information on which you rely, including, but not limited to, data, studies and articles. However, respondents are encouraged to address any aspect of occupational exposure to beryllium that they feel is pertinent. OSHA intends to use the information it obtains to decide on a course of action regarding occupational exposures to beryllium. A. Employee Exposure (1) Where and how is beryllium currently used? Please provide any workplace or industry-specific data you have indicating the amount of beryllium used, its form, and the processes and products in which it is used. OSHA is particularly interested in identifying industries and operations whose use of beryllium is not noted here, and in identifying uses of beryllium that involve small businesses. (2) What are the job categories in which employees are potentially exposed to beryllium in your company or industry? For each job category, please provide a description of how the exposure takes place within that job category. (3) How many employees are exposed to beryllium, or have the potential for exposure, in each job category in your company or industry? (4) What are the frequency, duration and levels of employee exposures to beryllium in each job category in your company or industry? Please include the analytical method and type of samples used for determining exposure levels. OSHA requests that, if possible, exposure data be personal samples with clear descriptions of the length of the sample. If this is not possible, the exposure data should indicate the form and length of the exposure. B. Health Effects OSHA is aware of a number of studies showing an association between adverse health effects and exposure to beryllium. The Agency is seeking the most recent and important studies that can be used to identify significant adverse health effects related to occupational beryllium exposure. (5) Which studies should OSHA consider in assessing the potential health risks of CBD and lung cancer associated with exposure to beryllium? Please explain your rationale for recommending these studies, including potential strengths and weaknesses, such as size of the population studied, characterization of exposure, and confounding factors. (6) Which recent studies examine the effects from dermal exposure and absorption of beryllium? (7) Describe any studies showing adverse health effects resulting from routes of occupational beryllium exposure other than dermal contact and inhalation. (8) Describe any studies that address the mechanisms of action of beryllium [[Page 70710]] in the development of CBD, sensitization, or lung cancer. (9) Which studies or other information should OSHA take into account in examining the role of genetic factors in the development of beryllium-related disease? (10) Describe characteristics of beryllium aerosols (e.g., particle size, surface area, particle number) that are related to the development of disease. (11) To what extent do different forms of beryllium have specific properties (e.g., solubility) that should be taken into consideration when assessing health risks? C. Risk Assessment OSHA is interested in data that will assist it in developing quantitative estimates of the occupational risk of sensitization, CBD, or lung cancer based on the level, timing, and duration of exposure to beryllium. Case reports and epidemiological and animal studies on these measures, along with associated exposure data characterizing total or respirable mass, particle number, particle surface area, and dermal exposure are desired. (12) Which studies should be used for a quantitative risk assessment for CBD and lung cancer? (13) Which approaches (i.e., methods, models, data) should OSHA use for estimating risk from exposure to beryllium? (14) Which mathematical models are most appropriate to quantify the risk of cancer or other adverse health effects from exposure to beryllium or beryllium compounds? Describe the strengths and weaknesses of these models. (15) Which mathematical lung deposition models are appropriate to characterize beryllium lung uptake? (16) Describe studies the Agency should consider that relate to the dose-response behavior of beryllium, including cellular, mechanistic, and dosimetric considerations. For instance, are any adverse health effects of beryllium dependent on the time period over which exposure occurs rather than dependent on the total cumulative dose received, or are there data that suggest beryllium exhibits a threshold effect? (17) Do short-term peak exposures play a role in causing adverse health effects, especially sensitization? If so, provide any information that addresses this role. (18) Are there studies or other evidence on the combined effects of inhalation and dermal exposure? (19) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has prepared a quantitative risk assessment addressing the risks for sensitization and lung cancer related to beryllium exposure in the ambient environment (Ex. 4-18). In addition, the California EPA (CalEPA) published a quantitative risk assessment addressing risks for sensitization and CBD in the ambient environment (Ex. 4-20). Should OSHA rely on these assessments to characterize the risk of sensitization, CBD, or lung cancer from occupational exposure to beryllium? Are there other assessments that the Agency should consult? For Beryllium sensitization, the two assessments relied on the same key study of beryllium ceramics plant workers by Kreiss et al. (Ex. 4-6), but used some different uncertainty/modifying factors. Should OSHA, in characterizing the risk of beryllium sensitization, rely on (a) the same key study, (b) the same methodology, and (c) the uncertainty/ modifying factors used by USEPA and the CalEPA? D. Exposure Assessment and Monitoring Methods (20) Is initial sampling, objective data, or some other measure used to estimate beryllium exposures in your facility? Describe any programs that have been implemented for initial assessment of exposure to beryllium. (21) Describe any follow-up or periodic exposure assessments that you conduct. How often do you conduct such follow-up or periodic exposure assessments? (22) What type of exposure monitoring methods are available for measuring beryllium in the workplace? Provide information on any sampling and analytical methods available for determining exposure based on total or respirable mass, particle size, particle number, particle surface area, or dermal contact. Information on the precision and accuracy of the sampling method, the range and limits of detection, the method of validation of sampling and analysis, and any potential sources of chemical interference is desired. E. Control Measures and Technological Feasibility (23) What types of engineering controls or work practices are used by your facility to reduce exposure to beryllium? Describe the effectiveness of these controls in reducing worker exposure and indicate any operations or processes in your facility for which engineering controls are not available, are ineffective, or are too costly to use. Give specific examples where engineering controls or work practices have been applied or evaluated or where engineering control programs have been implemented to ensure reliable operation of control systems. (24) Are there other materials available that can be substituted for beryllium in your processes? Describe any technical, economic or other barriers or hindrances to substitution. (25) Describe housekeeping practices used in your facility to control employee exposure to beryllium, including cleaning methods used (e.g., wet vacuuming, vacuums with HEPA filters, tack cloths), the frequency of these activities, and any prohibited housekeeping practices (e.g., dry sweeping or use of compressed air). (26) Are clean rooms, change rooms, shower areas, or separate lunchrooms used in your facility for hygiene and housekeeping in the control of beryllium exposure? Indicate the effectiveness of these measures in reducing employee exposure to beryllium, and describe the procedures followed or methods used to ensure that these areas are free from beryllium contamination. (27) Are respirators or other types of personal protective equipment (e.g., gloves, overalls or other clothing, goggles, face shields) provided to employees in your facility to protect them against exposure to beryllium? If so, describe your program and identify the type of equipment used, the basis for selection, and any difficulties encountered in implementing your program (e.g., problems with cleaning inner surfaces of respirators contaminated with beryllium). (28) Describe the conditions under which respirators and other personal protective equipment are used, including any criteria (e.g., regulated area, exposure level, type of operation, duration of exposure) used to trigger requirements for use of such equipment. (29) Are there processes or areas where it is impracticable to use respirators or other protective equipment to protect against exposure to beryllium? Describe those situations and explain what measures are taken to protect employees. (30) Other than reducing employee exposure to beryllium, has adoption of control measures resulted in any additional benefits? Provide specific details of the benefits. (31) Have any technological changes within your industry influenced the frequency, duration, or magnitude of exposure to beryllium or the means by which employers attempt to control exposures? The Agency requests that commenters describe in detail any technological changes within industries that have altered methods of control. Information linking control technologies and data on exposure levels associated [[Page 70711]] with the application of controls is desired. (32) Is the Department of Energy Beryllium Disease Prevention Program (10 CFR part 850) a viable program for non-DOE beryllium users? F. Economic Impacts (33) What are the potential economic impacts of reducing occupational exposures to beryllium in terms of costs of controls, costs for training, benefits from reduction in the number or severity of illnesses, effects on revenue and profit, changes in worker productivity, or any other impact measure that you can to identify? Provide, if possible, explicit examples of costs that could be incurred (e.g., dollar estimates for controls) or benefits that could be achieved (e.g., dollar estimates for medical savings from a reduction in the number or severity of beryllium-related illnesses). (34) What changes in market conditions would result from reducing employees' exposures to beryllium? Please include in your response any changes in market structure or concentration, or effects on domestic or international shipments of beryllium-related products or services that would be expected to result from reducing occupational exposures to beryllium. G. Employee Training (35) What information and training is provided to your employees to reduce risks associated with occupational exposure to beryllium? OSHA seeks comment on the information and training provided or recommended for workers exposed to beryllium, including job categories included in your training program, criteria for determining which employees receive information and training, program structure, content, methods, frequency, and any procedures used to address language barriers. (36) How do you determine the effectiveness of training? Describe methods used and any factors taken into account in examining the effectiveness of training programs. (37) Describe any ways in which beryllium-related training could be improved. H. Medical Surveillance (38) Which criteria are used, or should be used, to determine when occupational medical screening or surveillance should be provided? Describe the job categories, duties, exposure levels, or any other basis used for determining when health screening should be provided to employees. (39) Which screening tests or procedures are used, or should be used, for early identification of adverse health effects related to beryllium exposure? Explain the basis for your position. (40) If the BeLPT is part of your screening and surveillance program, describe its role in the program (e.g., factors used to determine eligibility for receiving the test, how the results are used to make decisions about further actions for the employee and the facility). (41) If the BeLPT is part of your screening and surveillance program, what confirmation protocols are used for determining a worker's sensitivity (e.g., single specimen followed by split-specimen, split specimen followed by split specimen)? (42) If the BeLPT is part of your screening and surveillance program, describe your experience with the test, including information regarding the sensitivity, specificity, false positive rate, false negative rate, and positive predictive value of the test, and any difficulties found with the interpretation of test results. (43) How often should beryllium-related health screening be performed? (44) What happens after an employee in your facility is identified as sensitized or diagnosed with beryllium-related disease? Describe the policies and procedures that are followed, including any provisions for removal from exposure and return to work. (45) Has health screening and surveillance had any effect on the number or severity of adverse health effects associated with beryllium exposure? I. Environmental Effects The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR part 1500), and the Department of Labor (DOL) NEPA Compliance Regulations (29 CFR part 11), require that OSHA give appropriate consideration to environmental issues and the impacts of proposed actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. OSHA is currently collecting written information and data on possible environmental impacts that could occur outside of the workplace (e.g., exposure to the community through contaminated air/water, contaminated waste sites, etc.) if the Agency were to issue guidance or revise the existing standard for occupational exposure to beryllium. Such information should include both negative and positive environmental effects that could be expected to result from guidance or a revised standard. Specifically, OSHA requests comments and information on the following: (46) What is the potential direct or indirect environmental impact (for example, the effect on air and water quality, energy usage, solid waste disposal, and land use) from a reduction in employee exposure to beryllium or the use of substitutes for beryllium? (47) Are there any situations in which reducing beryllium exposures to employees would be inconsistent with meeting environmental regulations? J. Impact on Small Business Entities Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), OSHA is required to assess the impact of proposed and final rules on small entities. OSHA requests that members of the small business community, or other parties familiar with regulation of small business, address any special circumstances facing small firms in controlling occupational exposure to beryllium. (48) How many and what kinds of small businesses or other small entities in your industry could be affected by amending OSHA's beryllium standard? Describe any such effects. (49) Are there special issues that make control of beryllium exposures more difficult or more costly in small firms? (50) Are there any reasons that the benefits of reducing occupational exposure to beryllium might be less in small firms than in larger firms? With regard to potential impacts on small firms, describe specific concerns that should be addressed, and any alternatives that might serve to minimize these impacts while meeting the requirements of the OSH Act. K. Duplication/Overlapping/Conflicting Rules (51) Are there any federal regulations that might duplicate, overlap or conflict with guidance or a revised standard concerning beryllium? If so, identify which ones and explain how they would duplicate, overlap or conflict. (52) Are there any federal programs in areas such as defense or energy that might be impacted by guidance or a revised standard concerning beryllium? If so, identify which ones and explain how they would be impacted. Authority and Signature This document was prepared under the direction of John L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, 20210. It is issued pursuant to sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, [[Page 70712]] 657), Secretary's Order 3-2000, and 29 CFR part 1911. Signed at Washington, DC, this 21st day of November, 2002. John L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor. [FR Doc. 02-29984 Filed 11-25-02; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510-26-P ***************************************************************** 23 Nevada lawmakers want probe of nuke dump whistleblowers' removal Las Vegas SUN November 26, 2002 ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada's federal lawmakers want a congressional investigation of management at Yucca Mountain, after two employees said they were removed for reporting flaws in picking the site to bury the nation's radioactive waste. Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., alleged "fraud and abuse" in the firing of Jim Mattimoe and the reassignment of Robert Clark, two quality assurance workers who raised concerns about site selection studies. "Apparently, these employees were used as an example," Reid said in a statement released with a letter late Monday to David Walker, head of the congressional General Accounting Office. "These workers were fired for doing the right thing," Reid said. "I can't help but wonder how many other employees have damaging information and are afraid to come forward." Energy Department and Yucca Mountain officials did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment. The senators cited a Sunday Las Vegas Review-Journal report about Mattimoe's firing from his contract job as a science and engineering staffer and Clark's transfer out of his position as Yucca Mountain Project quality assurance manager. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., also sent a letter asking Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to make public the concerns that Mattimoe and Clark raised. The removals came after the two men expressed concerns to the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management that the project was cutting corners to meet Department of Energy deadlines. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., pointed to the workers' allegations of wrongdoing and corruption as "yet additional evidence that the DOE would do anything to approve Yucca Mountain." Over Nevada's objection, Congress in July approved burying the nation's most dangerous commercial, industrial and military radioactive waste beneath Yucca Mountain. The site is an ancient volcanic ridge at the western edge of the Nevada Test Site, about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Plans call for the first shipment of 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel to arrive in 2010, but a GAO report earlier this year said shipments probably won't begin until at least 2020. Ensign said that while a GAO probe probably would not prompt Congress to rescind approval for the Yucca Mountain Project, it would help state lawsuits aimed at killing the project in federal court. In their letter, Reid and Ensign said Mattimoe and Clark were removed from their Yucca Mountain jobs "because they were aggressive in identifying technical deficiencies in the project." Mattimoe filed a wrongful termination complaint, and the federal Labor Department determined he should be reinstated. His former employer, Navarro Research and Engineering, has appealed. Mattimoe now is working at the Los Alamos, N.M., national laboratory. The two senators also referred to what they said was an anonymous letter indicating what they called "a significant loss" of scientific information stored by the DOE in antiquated storage systems. "This information is crucial to the accurate modeling of the Yucca Mountain site," they wrote. Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 24 Nevada senators seek probe of Yucca claims Tuesday, November 26, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal By KEITH ROGERS © 2002, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Nevada's senators on Monday asked the investigative arm of Congress to probe claims by former and current Yucca Mountain Project workers who found shortcomings in the process that scientists used to find the ridge suitable for disposing the nation's highly radioactive waste. "What implications do these quality assurance problems have for the integrity of the scientific models used to predict the future safety of the Yucca Mountain Project?" Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., asked in a letter late Monday to David Walker, head of the General Accounting Office, the nonpartisan congressional agency that audits federal programs. In their letter, Reid and Ensign cited "two significant pieces of evidence that indicate to us the program is undergoing significant mismanagement." In one instance, they referred to Sunday's Review-Journal story about project whistle-blowers who were either fired or transferred after they reported quality assurance problems to the Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. In the other, Reid and Ensign cite an anonymous letter they received "indicating there is a significant loss" of scientific information. "After receiving this letter, we learned that the Department of Energy had issued a notification of potential catastrophic loss of data stored in antiquated storage systems," Reid and Ensign wrote. "This information is crucial to the accurate modeling of the Yucca Mountain site." Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, was approved by Congress in July over the veto of Gov. Kenny Guinn for disposing the nation's high-level radioactive waste. The current schedule calls for the first shipment of the 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel and other deadly radioactive wastes to be entombed in 2010. But a GAO report earlier this year concluded that waste shipments couldn't realistically begin until at least 2020. Problems perceived by quality assurance workers were detailed in a Department of Labor investigation into a wrongful termination complaint filed by former contract worker Jim Mattimoe, who until last year managed a staff that audited the project's science and engineering. Mattimoe was fired after he made allegations of corruption in a program, including questions raised about the validity of computer data, software and models scientists used to predict how a Yucca Mountain repository would perform over 10,000 years. The Labor Department's regional administrator determined Mattimoe should be reinstated, but his former employer, Navarro Research and Engineering has appealed that decision. In the meantime, Mattimoe's associate, Robert W. Clark, was transferred from his job as manager of the DOE quality assurance program for the Yucca Mountain Project, now called the Office of Repository Development. A June 24 memo by a Navarro employee, Kristi Hodges, that was written at the request of Labor Department investigator Nicholas Sebastian, who has since left the department, said Clark was told by a DOE official at the time of his transfer to "take one for the project." The senators' letter to the GAO said, "This action represents a troubling glimpse of a mind-set within the project that appears to involve intimidation of hard working federal employees who raise questions about the ability to meet project deadlines." In a telephone interview Monday, Ensign said, "This seems to be a case of employees trying to protect the public against possible dangers at Yucca Mountain and then having their voices silenced in the process. ... I think that we have to make sure to try and protect people who stick their necks out." Likewise, Reid said in a statement, "These workers were removed because they were doing the right thing. "Their job was to monitor the quality of the work being done at Yucca Mountain and once they came forward and identified defects with the science, they were either terminated or relocated. Apparently, these employees were used as an example (to) keep your mouth shut or you'll be removed," Reid said. Ensign said he did not think a GAO probe will persuade Congress to send the Yucca Mountain Project back to the drawing board, but he did say it will help bolster the state's lawsuits aimed at defeating the project in federal court. Clark, who spoke by telephone Monday, said though a GAO investigation would be a step in the right direction, he would like to see a more encompassing inquiry. "A full-out congressional investigation I would welcome," Clark said. In a statement, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said the workers' allegations of wrongdoing and corruption "are yet additional evidence that the DOE would do anything to approve Yucca Mountain." "In my opinion, such irresponsible actions jeopardize the health and safety of Nevadans and cannot be tolerated. The Nevada delegation will work together to hold the DOE accountable to ensure that these latest allegations are fully investigated," Gibbons said. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said in an interview, "This is just a continuation of a pattern of misbehavior and misconception on the part of DOE. There are no surprises here." Berkley said she is trying to reach workers with concerns about the project. "It's important to find out exactly what it is they know. ... That's the problem when you have a predetermined conclusion to a study. We never had an honest scientific study on the Yucca Mountain Project's feasibility." Asked whether findings reported by the project's quality assurance team are being processed to correct deficiencies with computer models, data and software, a DOE spokesman said last week if there are any identified problems, they will be addressed appropriately. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 Stephens Media Group Privacy Statement lasvegas.com [http://www.lasvegas.com] ***************************************************************** 25 Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejects delay on dry cask facility San Luis Obispo Tribune | 11/25/2002 | [sanluisobispo.com - The sanluisobispo home page] Diablo Canyon plant can move forward with storage plan David Sneed The Tribune SAN LUIS OBISPO - Planning for an above-ground radioactive waste storage depot at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant can go forward, federal authorities have decided. Local activists had asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to put plans on hold for a dry-cask storage facility until questions about security at the plant and its vulnerability to terrorist attack are answered. NRC officials rejected the petition late last week as unnecessary, saying that the agency has required many additional security precautions at nuclear power plants, including Diablo Canyon, and is already conducting a comprehensive review of all of its security protocols. ***************************************************************** 26 NRC looking for candidates for N-waste advisory committee FR Doc 02-29982 [Federal Register: November 26, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 228)] [Notices] [Page 70761] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26no02-84] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Request for Candidates AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeks qualified candidates for the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste. Submit resume[egrave]s to: Ms. Sherry Meador, Administrative Assistant, ACRS/ ACNW, Mail Stop T2E-26, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or e-mail address SAM@NRC.gov [SAM@NRC.gov] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission established the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) to provide independent technical review of and advice on matters related to the management of nuclear waste, including all aspects of nuclear waste disposal facilities, as directed by the Commission. The ACNW undertakes independent studies and reviews related to disposal, storage, and transportation of both high- and low-level radioactive waste including interim storage of spent nuclear fuel; materials safety; and facilities decommissioning. This encompasses activities related to rulemakings, associated regulatory guides, and technical positions developed to support and clarify NRC's nuclear materials and radioactive waste regulations. Committee members are selected from a variety of engineering and scientific disciplines, such as risk assessment, chemistry, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, materials sciences, and the earth sciences. At this time, candidates are being sought who have 15-20 years of experience, including graduate level education, in the management and disposal of radioactive waste. Committee members serve a 4-year term with the possibility of reappointment for a total service of 8 years. Criteria used to evaluate candidates include education and experience, demonstrated skills in nuclear waste management matters, and the ability to solve complex technical problems. The Commission, in selecting its Committee members, considers the need for a specific expertise to accomplish the work expected to be before the ACNW. For this position, the expertise must be directly related to the area of radioactive waste disposal, site remediation and closure activities, nuclear fuel reprocessing, chemistry, chemical exchange processes, and nuclear fuel cycle. Consistent with the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Commission seeks candidates with diverse backgrounds, so that the membership on the Committee will be fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and functions to be performed by the Committee. Candidates for ACNW appointments may be involved in or have financial interests related to NRC-regulated aspects of the nuclear industry. Because conflict-of-interest considerations may restrict the participation of a candidate in ACNW activities, the degree and nature of any such restriction on an individual's activities as a member will be considered in the selection process. Each qualified candidate's financial interests must be reconciled with applicable Federal and NRC rules and regulations prior to final appointment. This might require divestiture of securities or discontinuance of certain contracts or grants. Information regarding these restrictions will be provided upon request. A resum[eacute] describing the educational and professional background of the candidate, including any special accomplishments and professional references should be provided. Candidates should provide their current address, telephone number, and e-mail address. All candidates will receive careful consideration. Appointment will be made without regard to such factors as race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or disabilities. Candidates must be citizens of the United States and be able to devote approximately 70-100 days per year to Committee business. Applications will be accepted until January 17, 2003. Dated: November 20, 2002. Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. 02-29982 Filed 11-25-02; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 27 UK: BNIF states 'Radwaste disposal now a key EU issue' 25/11/2002 - 12:35 The British Nuclear Industry Forum (BNIF) has today highlighted how the topic of radioactive waste disposal is moving up the political agenda at the EU level as well as in the UK. On November 6, the European Commission officially unveiled a new package of proposed EU legislation covering radwaste management, nuclear safety and nuclear plant decommissioning funds. © 1998-2002 DeHavilland Information Services plc. All rights reserved. 020 7517 2200 Privacy ***************************************************************** 28 UK: BNIF organise nuclear education trip for journalists to Yucca Mountains DeHavilland 25/11/2002 - 12:38 The British Nuclear Industry Forum (BNIF) has revealed how it took a party of journalists from the UK on a three day fact-finding visit to Nevada in early November, in order to investigate the way in which the US is dealing with its waste. BNIF stated: 'The journalists were very appreciative for the opportunity the trip afforded them of finding out at first hand about an important, but often emotive aspect of nuclear energy. It also inspired them to question what Britain is doing to deal with its nuclear waste, as Stage 2 of the DEFRA consultation approaches.' © 1998-2002 DeHavilland Information Services plc. All rights reserved. 020 7517 2200 ***************************************************************** 29 Senators Question Yucca Mountain Science ens WASHINGTON, DC, November 26, 2002 (ENS) - Citing evidence of fraud and abuse, Nevada's U.S. senators have asked for a federal investigation into defects in the scientific process within the Yucca Mountain project. Senators Harry Reid, a Democrat, and John Ensign, a Republican, referred to a recent story in the "Las Vegas Review Journal" which raised allegations of mistreatment of quality assurance personnel who identified technical deficiencies in the project. According to the article, two quality assurance personnel were removed from their jobs with the Yucca Mountain project because they were aggressive in identifying technical deficiencies in the project. "These workers were removed because they were doing the right thing," Senator Reid said. "Their job was to monitor the quality of the work being done at Yucca Mountain and once they came forward and identified defects with the science, they were either terminated or relocated. Apparently, these employees were used as an example ­ keep your mouth shut or you'll be removed. I can't help but wonder how many other employees have damaging information and are afraid to come forward." Earlier this year, Congress voted to approve the Yucca Mountain site, located about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, as a permanent repository for some 77,000 tons of high level radioactive wastes, including spent fuel from nuclear reactors. The controversial decision overrode objections from Nevada's Congressional delegation, state government and much of the state's population. The news that some workers at the massive underground construction site have questioned the site's safety raised new concerns among critics of the project. "We have project workers who are trying to warn the public about the possible dangers at Yucca Mountain," said Senator Ensign. "Now it appears that someone at the Department of Energy may be trying to silence those voices. No one should be intimidated, belittled, or fired for doing their job." In a letter sent Monday, Reid and Ensign asked the General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, to investigate the quality assurance problems raised by the Yucca Mountain contractors. The letter also asks the GAO to look at allegations stemming from an anonymous whistleblower letter that there are problems managing the vast amounts of data that will be used to make a licensing determination from the project. "After receiving this letter, we learned that the Department of Energy had issued a notification of potential catastrophic loss of data stored in antiquated storage systems," the senators wrote. "This information is crucial to the accurate modeling of the Yucca Mountain site." The federal government has spent almost $8 billion dollars so far to identify and test the Yucca Mountain site as potential nuclear repository. The planned site is projected to cost at least $80 billion more to complete, the senators noted. [editor@ens-news.com] for details. Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All Rights ***************************************************************** 30 Senators seek GAO probe of new Yucca allegations Las Vegas SUN: November 26, 2002 LAS VEGAS SUN Nevada's senators are asking for a federal probe of recently reported flaws in the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project and of alleged mistreatment of whistleblowers. Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., on Monday asked for an investigation by the General Accounting Office. They based the request on an anonymous letter received by their offices and a story in Sunday's Las Vegas Review-Journal. The story said two Yucca quality assurance workers were displaced -- one fired, one transferred -- after aggressively spotlighting deficiencies in the nuclear waste dump project. The senators are concerned the Energy Department is cutting corners in assessing the safety of the project in a rushed attempt to meet ambitious deadlines, based on the letter and the newspaper story. Quality assurance is "crucial to ensuring the site will adequately protect public health and safety and the environment," the senators said in a letter to GAO, the investigative arm of Congress. The senators said the anonymous letter indicates a significant loss of scientific data within the Energy Department project. The letter cites problems in managing "vast amounts" of data that will be used to determine whether the project is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The license is necessary before the dump can be constructed. In a separate letter Monday, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., wrote to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, expressing her "great alarm" and looking for more answers. "I would like to know what allegations these employees raised specifically in relation to DOE's work and what corners were cut on quality assurance," Berkley wrote. "I would also appreciate an answer as to why DOE retaliated against these employees, and what measures DOE has taken to rectify the situation." Congress and President Bush earlier this year approved Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as the best site for a first-of-its-kind dump for the nation's most radioactive nuclear waste. The waste is now piling up at nuclear power plants and Defense Department sites across the country. Nevada officials have long opposed Yucca. The next step in the project is that the Energy Department must obtain a construction license from the NRC. The department is now compiling a complex application for the license. In its bid to meet strict deadlines and construct the dump site by 2010, the department has ignored flaws in the quality assurance data, the two displaced Yucca workers have said. The project, under study since the early 1980s, has already cost $8 billion and could cost $80 billion, the senators said, although Energy Department estimates are lower for both figures. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 31 IAEA to tell NKorea to end nuke program, accept inspection [http://www.hindustantimes.com] Tuesday, November 26, 2002 | Updated: 08:52 IST Agence France-Presse Tokyo, November 26 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will this week urge North Korea to scrap its nuclear weapons program and accept IAEA inspections, a Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday, citing government sources. The IAEA's board of governors, which will meet on Thursday at its Vienna headquarters, will issue a statement on the issue, the leading Mainichi Shimbun said, citing several Japanese government sources. The statement will also "indirectly" support Japan as it tries to push for continued normalisation talks with Pyongyang, it said. A Vienna-based Japanese envoy to the UN agency, Yukio Takasu, had negotiated with the IAEA and asked the organisation expresses its support for Japan in talks with Pyongyang, the newspaper said. The report followed an announcement by the US last month that Pyongyang had admitted that it was developing nuclear weapons in violation of a 1994 arms control agreement. Under the accord, Pyongyang pledged to freeze its nuclear program in return for the construction by an international consortium of two light-water reactors and the delivery of 500,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil a year. To punish Pyongyang, the consortium building the reactors decided to suspend fuel oil deliveries from December until the North agreed to dismantle its nuclear program. © Hindustan Times Ltd. 2002. ***************************************************************** 32 US warns Pakistan: Stop the ‘nuclear hush-hush’ with North Korea IndiaExpress.Com 18.23 IST 26th Nov 2002 By IndiaExpress Bureau At long last the United States has dropped the pretence and warned Pakistan against continued cooperation with North Korea in the nuclear field. "I have made it clear to him (Musharraf) that any sort of contact between Pakistan and North Korea we believe would be improper, inappropriate and would have consequences," Secretary of State Collin Powell, who was returning to Washington from Mexico, told reporters on Monday. Mr. Powell said Musharraf has assured him that "there are no further contacts" between Pakistan and North Korea over transfers of nuclear weapons technology to Pyongyang. Powell's comments have come in the wake of reports on secret Pakistani co-operation with North Korea in Pyongyang's development of Uranium-based nuclear weapons. 'The New York Times' on November 24 quoted officials as saying the technology transfers had been made even as recently as July. ***************************************************************** 33 Jeff German: Mushroom cloud hangs over Nevada Las Vegas SUN: November 26, 2002 Columnist Jeff German: Mushroom cloud hangs over state Jeff German's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com [german@lasvegassun.com] or (702) 259-4067. The "mushroom cloud" license plate was considered dead and buried in a missile-proof cask six months ago. But now it may be rising from the ashes of the state's nuclear waste fight in Washington. The Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation is looking to revive the plate, which features a mushroom cloud from an atomic explosion, to raise money for its Las Vegas museum. If timing is everything, the foundation last summer picked the worst possible time to push the mushroom design. It occurred during the height of the state's intense battle on Capitol Hill against the high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain. The special edition plate became an icon of the fight over nuclear waste, and few in Nevada officialdom wanted to be associated with anything nuclear as the political conflict raged in Washington. State leaders, among them Gov. Kenny Guinn, found the design offensive and counter-productive to the fight. To them it looked as if the plate was advocating a weapon of mass destruction right smack in the middle of the nuclear waste battle. That was too much in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It seemed as though the design, which attracted international attention, was on the verge of sparking nuclear war in Nevada. More effort seemed to go into condemning the license plate than working out the state's real problems. Nevada leaders went ballistic when a poster of the plate found its way to the floor of the House while Congress was moving to approve sending the nation's radioactive waste to Nevada. A pro-Yucca Mountain congressman displayed the poster during the heated debate in a perverted attempt to show that Nevadans were prepared to accept the nuclear garbage. That was all it took for Department of Motor Vehicles Director Ginny Lewis to announce on May 31 that she had decided to nuke the mushroom cloud design. But the state ended up losing the nuclear waste fight in Washington, and with the battle now in the courts, the plate is turning out to have a longer half-life than its critics thought. "You could make an argument that the interests of the day that tied Yucca Mountain to the mushroom cloud design have gone away," says Troy Wade, who chairs the foundation. "We're not suggesting ... that the weapons program was good or bad. "We're simply saying that it represents 50 years of a very unique piece of Nevada and U.S. history and that one of the symbols by which the site is recognized is the mushroom cloud." Guinn press secretary Greg Bortolin says the governor still finds the plate too hot for his tastes, and Tom Jacobs, a spokesman for Lewis, says the DMV director hasn't changed her mind, either. That, however, isn't stopping Wade, a 40-year veteran of the government's nuclear weapons program, from pressing ahead. With the help of state Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, Wade plans to rally support for the mushroom cloud design at the Legislature after the first of the year. He says Titus, though she's an ardent opponent of Yucca Mountain, backs the design. Titus was out of the country and couldn't be reached for comment. But Wade says he's hoping the Legislature will pass a resolution approving the plate so that he can go back to the DMV with a new mandate. When you think about it, as distasteful as nuclear weapons are to many Americans, there really isn't a better way to visualize the Test Site than by the dramatic footage of mushroom clouds billowing from the above-ground tests of the 1950s and 1960s. You clearly can see that the plate is promoting history, not advocating mass destruction. The words, "Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation" are written on the bottom of the plate. But if the critics persist, maybe there's a way to modify the design, such as adding an international symbol of peace to it. The plate should be seen as a tribute to the thousands of Nevadans who participated in the atomic testing program, especially those who died from radiation exposure, to make the world a safer place to live. If we look at it that way, then maybe Nevada officials will spend less time worrying about the mushroom cloud and more time solving the real problems of the state. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 34 EDITORIAL: Not-so-happy birthday (DOE turns 25) Tuesday, November 26, 2002 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevadans have had more experience with the Department of Energy than most -- so it's unlikely anybody in the Silver State is popping champagne corks to celebrate the agency's 25th anniversary. The DOE was born a quarter of a century ago this month, in response to the so-called energy crisis of the mid 1970s. (A crisis triggered by an inordinate amount of federal meddling in the energy markets, not by any real commodity shortages.) Since then, in predictable fashion, it's morphed into a bumbling, hidebound bureaucracy that's done absolutely nothing to make the nation less dependent on imported fuels while dabbling in dubious endeavors such as the Yucca Mountain project. All for the bargain price of just $21 billion a year. "Besides being a make-work program for 20,000 federal workers and 150,000 contractors," notes Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, "DOE's core accomplishment has been to funnel billions of taxpayer dollars, year after year, to corporate welfare and goofy alternative energy schemes. Shouldn't my car run on sunshine and my house have a windmill by now?" Mr. Schatz and his outfit took the occasion of the DOE's birthday to call for the agency's elimination, moving the nation's nuclear programs under the Department of Defense. It's a sentiment that a great majority of Nevadans will heartily endorse. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 Stephens Media ***************************************************************** 35 USEC aims to cut 200 jobs at Kentucky plant Forbes.com: [REUTERS] Reuters, 11.26.02, 9:41 AM ET BETHESDA, Md., Nov 26 (Reuters) - Uranium processor USEC Inc. (nyse: USU - news - people) said on Tuesday that it will offer voluntary early retirement to eligible employees at its Paducah, Kentucky, plant with the aim of cutting 200 jobs in 2003. If less than 200 employees did not take early retirement, USEC said it would offer the package to other employees who were not eligible for the program. If it still could not cut 200 jobs, than it would lay off workers, USEC said. The company said that the cost of the job cuts was included in its earnings forecast for 2003 issued last week, and there is no change in its net income and cash flow assumptions. Most of the cost-cutting will occur in 2003, USEC said. Copyright 2002, Reuters News Service ***************************************************************** 36 Whistleblower Wins Settlement Against Bechtel IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, November 26, 2002 (ENS) - Bechtel, the contractor that runs the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), has agreed to restore 270 hours of personal leave to Clint Jensen, an INEEL worker who blew the whistle about working conditions at the Energy Department facility. In a court settlement earlier this month, Bechtel agreed to confirm Jensen in the temporary position he now holds as a Project Planner at INEEL, and to reimburse him for all out of his out of pocket expenses, travel, and 80 hours of time attending trial and depositions, plus attorney fees. Jensen said that he was "very pleased" with the settlement, and that he looks forward to returning to productive status at the site. Bechtel took action against Jensen, a depleted uranium worker and INEEL employee for more than 20 years, after he complained to the Department of Energy (DOE) about dangerous working conditions. After the testimony of seven witnesses, and before the presentation of the defense case, the parties came to an agreement to end the lawsuit. From 1997 until March 2001, Jensen worked as a manufacturing operator at INEEL's Specific Manufacturing Capability (SMC), a classified program which fabricates depleted uranium for lining the U.S. Army's Abrams battle tanks. Jensen's job included incinerating uranium chips and cutting and boring sheets of uranium metal. Each night, Jensen had to mop and sweep around the facility's homemade incinerator to remove a black film encircling the oven caused by the leakage during burns. Jensen began asking questions of his employer in March 1998, concerned about his own symptoms, the premature death of two of his coworkers, and why others had left the workplace with similar symptoms. He suggested that the facility's Industrial Hygiene program was deficient, and noted that he had been ordered to burn substances other than depleted uranium in the oxidation oven, in violation of the oven's permit. Jensen feared that his uranium exposure levels soared after he looked down to find himself standing in water laden with depleted uranium. In his case against his employer, Jensen charged that Bechtel had attempted to silence him and keep him out of the workplace by: + referring him to psychiatrists numerous times; + increasing his security clearance, which prevented him from speaking with his personal physicians about his occupational health concerns; + refusing to let him speak with a DOE official about his concerns; + accusing him of abusing his short term disability and removing 270 hours of personal leave time from him; + calling his personal physicians and urging them to keep him offsite; and + placing excessive restrictions upon him at certain times and denying him use of a respirator at others. "They tried to intimidate me," said Jensen, "but I stood up for what I believe in. I did it so that they will obey the law and other workers won't be exposed to the kind of conditions that I was." Since Jensen raised his concerns, the DOE has reviewed the SMC facility at INEEL and found numerous violations. One reviewer and scientist, Dr. Melissa McDiarmid, stated that she observed a "cook book mentality" of Industrial Hygiene at SMC and that, "No truly competent person was identified by me who would have the working knowledge and experience to know what hazards to expect in a new operation." Because of Jensen's concerns, the oxidation oven was dismantled, and new safety procedures and processes have been implemented. "Clint performed a valuable public service by raising important safety and health concerns which resulted in significant improvements in operations at the INEEL site," said Tom Carpenter of the Government Accountability Project, which represented Jensen. "We are all very glad to put this matter behind us, and for Clint to be able to get on with his life." * * * [editor@ens-news.com] for details. Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All Rights ***************************************************************** 37 HANFORD FACILITY'S VALUE DOUBTED Monday, November 25, 2002 By KEN OLSEN, Columbian staff writer Hanford Nuclear Reservation cheerleaders again have won a stay of execution for an aging nuclear reactor they say is vital for producing medical isotopes. But the urgency of that role is lost on medical folks, who say the Fast Flux Test Facility is inefficient and a nonplayer in radioactive diagnostics and treatment. Last week, Fast Flux Test Facility supporters persuaded the U.S. Department of Energy to delay the permanent closure of the reactor for another four months. Citizens for Medical Isotopes and Benton County argue the Fast Flux reactor is key in supplying the radioactive isotopes used for diagnosing and treating cancer and other illness. The United States is too dependent upon Canada and other foreign countries for the isotopes, which bodes ill for a steady supply in the face of growing future demand, they argue. And they persuaded Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to send a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham echoing those sentiments. Many in the medical community, however, don't share the dire view of the disappearance of the Fast Flux reactor. Some weren't even aware it ever produced isotopes. Oregon Health and Sciences University and other medical isotope users say they leave the source up to their suppliers. One of the more prominent regional suppliers, Mallinckrodt Medical, isn't sweating the demise of the Fast Flux reactor a bit. "It doesn't impact our business at all," said June Fowler, St. Louis-based spokeswoman for Mallinckrodt. "So I really wouldn't have any comment on its closing." Others say the Fast Flux reactor is not the best option for isotopes. "There are not any supply problems," said Dr. Janet Eary, director of nuclear medicine at the University of Washington. "There are more modern and more efficient facilities than the FFTF that are designed to make isotopes." Still, "It's great (supporters) understand the importance of radioactive isotopes," Eary said. "And that they want to make that contribution for all of us." The reactor, on the southeastern portion of Hanford, was completed in 1978. From 1982 to 1992, it was used to test advanced nuclear fuels, nuclear power operations, reactor safety and the like. It also produced industrial and medical isotopes and made tritium for fusion research. The Energy Department first ordered the reactor shut down in December 1993 after concluding it was no longer economically viable. After three years of pulling fuel rods and preparing to close the facility, the Fast Flux complex was given a reprieve while the Energy Department considered its role in tritium production. When that washed out, the reactor's future underwent other studies. One study concluded the Fast Flux reactor could make isotopes and be used for research -- except that long-term financial support for the reactor was too shaky. The Energy Department again started shutting the facility down this fall. They were stopped earlier this month after Benton County filed suit and won an injunction from a federal judge. Since then, both sides have agreed to a 120-day stay while they prepare their cases. http://www.columbian.com/news] . Copyright © 2002 by The Columbian Publishing Co. P.O. Box 180, ***************************************************************** 38 ORNL division changes its name The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- 2:07 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2002 The Solid State Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is giving itself a 50th anniversary present -- a name change. According to John Cooke, director, the division will henceforth be called the Condensed Matter Sciences Division. "This year represents the Solid State Division's 50th anniversary," said Cooke, in an e-mail notification. "The origins of the division lie in the study of radiation damage effects in solids. Since then, the division has expanded and grown into areas of research that were completely unknown at that time. "In fact, the division has expanded capabilities and programmatic directions to the extent that we have outgrown our name," continued Cooke. "Because an important part of the division's future will be focused on the study of new advanced materials and related phenomena associated with boundaries that traditionally have separated solid state physics, chemistry, and biology, we have chosen a new name that better reflects that future, namely, the Condensed Matter Sciences Division." The name change went into effect Nov. 21. [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 39 K-25 cleanup: Jaw-dropper and showstopper The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- 11/26/02 R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff The job appears jaw-dropping challenging, and some would say darn near impossible. But no matter the spin you choose, cleaning and closing the historic K-25 site by 2008 causes at least one man to lose sleep. "Yes, it does tend to keep me awake at night," Mark Allen, manager of projects, says of safely collapsing millions of square feet of building space, much of it contaminated, to a field. The K-25 building alone occupies about 1.6 million square feet near the center of East Tennessee Technology Park, and was the largest building in the world under one roof when it was completed in 1945. But Allen is up for the task. "We've got the talent, we've got the plan in place, we've got the support of our customer and the funding scheduled -- as long as these things hang together we think it's doable," said Allen. K-25 after accelerated cleanup, minus reindustrialization ... Not only is the K-25 work a jaw-dropper, it's a showstopper. The workforce projection is as stark as the before-and-after photos that accompany this story. "The work here is finite, there's no doubt about it," says Bechtel Jacobs Co. President Steve Liedle, of gearing up for accelerated cleanup. "We're telling our staff there will be a rapid ramp-up of work through our subcontractors through fiscal year 2004; a plateau through 2005 and 2006; then mid-2006 to 2008 there will be layoffs, there's just no doubt about it." Bechtel Jacobs was formed in 1997 with the sole mission of managing cleanup for DOE's Oak Ridge Operations office. "Subcontracting will remain a major element of how we get our work done," said Liedle, who noted he has no plans to significantly upgrade the amount of work that is self-performed by Bechtel Jacobs throughout the accelerated program. "The vast majority of the work we do is through the subcontractors and it will remain so." East Tennessee Environmental Business Association Executive Director Jenny Freeman is looking at the positive side of that scenario. "They (the subcontractors) can't continue living off of environmental management work," says Freeman. "But there's going to be a lot of work from now till 2008 in the accelerated cleanup program, so since they are already here and working in Oak Ridge this also offers the opportunity to establish a stronger presence with a whole host of other contractors in town. "It's a great opportunity for companies to continue to grow over the next five or six years," says Freeman. Liedle says the positive side for Oak Ridge workers is that the two sister facilities, the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, are upgrading and will need experienced workers. "They are ramping up work, and we want to make that transition for our workers very easy," says Liedle. The cleanup also includes closing Melton Valley and completing a suite of other high-risk cleanup projects. Cost savings through acceleration (see chart) are estimated at $2.2 billion. R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 40 Bechtel Jacobs sticks to fixed price, only different The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- p.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2002 R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff Bechtel Jacobs Co. President Steve Liedle says cleanup of the K-25 and K-27 buildings is not as complex as the task undertaken by British Nuclear Fuels Limited, and that the contract is more balanced in terms of risk. "The work is technically different from the three-building project," said Liedle in a recent interview at the company's offices at the K-25 site. "And I think when companies, including BNFL, see the contracting approach, they will see that it better balances the risk," said Liedle. The cost risk in the cleanup would be more balanced among the Department of Energy, Bechtel Jacobs and the subcontractor, said Liedle. BNFL, which won the $238 million contract to clean Buildings K-29, K-31 and K-33, recently announced it would not bid for new work at the former gaseous diffusion plant under the Bechtel Jacobs cleanup culture of fixed-price contracting. Jeff Stevens, BNFL general manager, said the company will lose money to the tune of about $150 million on its current contract at the site, and that fixed-cost contracting on those projects is too risky. The fixed-priced contract is touted by Bechtel Jacobs, DOE's cleanup contractor for Oak Ridge Operations, as a money saver. Companies have been highly critical of fixed-price contracting as getting a "cheap" fix while sacrificing technical skill and capabilities in performance of cleanup. Mark Allen, manager of projects for Bechtel Jacobs K-25 cleanup, called the contract scenario a "pay for progress contract." "While the contract is fixed price, it doesn't equate to that scenario in the commercial world," said Allen. "The award will be based on a formula that takes into account technical merit and cost -- it's a best-value weighted approach. As the subcontractor completes the work, they will get paid for that progress," said Allen. "There will be a progress payment every month." Both Liedle and Allen stressed that the work for the two-building project is on a smaller scale than the work inside the three-building project, and that the work is "repetitive," giving the benefit of a gentler learning curve. "There's no recycling, there's no disassembly," said Allen. "The size of equipment is much smaller and more manageable than in the three-building project." "We can use local companies to do that work," said Liedle. "That's a cost advantage to us and an advantage to the companies in this area." The request for proposals is due on the street any day now. Cleanup of the two buildings is part of the accelerated cleanup schedule, which would close the site by 2008 (see related stories). Bechtel Jacobs is in negotiations with the DOE on whether its contract, due to run out in September, will be extended through the accelerated cleanup schedule, and whether the Paducah and Portsmouth sites will still be included in that contract. The DOE is scheduled to re-compete the contract in January should negotiations with Bechtel Jacobs fall through. R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 41 Radiation leak at INEEL taints four workers Idaho State Journal 11/26/02 By Emily Jones — Journal Writer Respond to this story [ejones@journalnet.com] ARCO — An accident last week at the Idaho National Environmental and Engineering Laboratory caused radiation to be released, contaminating four workers and a facility. The exposed workers were immediately tested. Three tested positive for nasal contamination, but none was found to have internal contamination, spokesman John Walsh said Monday. “The contamination was pretty minor,” Walsh said. The incident occurred Nov. 20 at the Advanced Test Reactor when a shipping cask filled with Cobalt 60 failed to depressurize properly after a routine check. Cobalt 60 is a radioactive isotope widely used in medicine and industry. Workers were preparing to ship the isotope to an industrial customer. The contamination was released after the cask was pressure-tested for leaks. During the routine procedure, casks are pressurized with helium to 15 pounds per square inch to test the seals. After the test, the gas is vented through a high-efficiency particulate filter system. The accident occurred as workers were removing the testing equipment from the cask after the gauge showed zero pressure. The workers heard and felt air come from the cask. The incident is under investigation. “Now they’re trying to figure out why they got that puff of contaminated air when the gauge said the cask was completely depressurized,” Walsh said. Workers were immediately decontaminated. Clothing was removed, and skin was washed with soap and water. The facility was evacuated for a short time while workers checked for more contamination. Additional contamination was found in a nearby preparation area, storage area, air lock and reactor main floor area. The areas are isolated until cleanup takes place. [http://www.mywebpal.com/info/privacy.cfm] ***************************************************************** 42 Cleanup schedule not credible, says citizens' panel The Oak Ridger Online -- State News -- 2:10 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2002 by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff Not everyone is as optimistic as the Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor that accelerated cleanup can move forward as planned. "The Citizens' Advisory Panel doubts that DOE will be able to meet the deadlines it is proposing, even if it receives sufficient annual appropriations, an unlikely scenario," wrote chairman Norman Mulvenon in comments submitted by the panel to the DOE. The schedule, wrote Mulvenon, "is based on seemingly arbitrary dates and milestones (that reduce) the credibility of the effort." The CAP advises the Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, which in turn sends advice to the DOE on environmental and preservation issues involving the reservation. Congress recently upped the allocation to the accelerated cleanup program, from the requested $800 million to $982 million, in its defense authorization bill. That bill must be signed by the president, and matched by an appropriations bill before the allocation is made. Oak Ridge is slated to receive $105 million of those funds. As an example of unrealistic milestones, wrote Mulvenon, the DOE plan is to remediate groundwater at the same time it remediates sources that impact the groundwater. "This may result in illogical and unachievable sequencing," wrote Mulvenon. In addition, "stakeholders have not yet completely grasped" the impact of the "huge growth" of projected waste volumes left for disposal, according to the comments. "The total cost of $4 billion for the (program) seems low when considering the complexities that may be encountered for the remaining remediations," wrote Mulvenon. "Oak Ridge stakeholders expect that sufficient funds will be appropriated for early stewardship activities associated with completing remediations." Oak Ridge officials, including City Council member Jerry Kuhaida, have expressed concern about stewardship costs that could accrue to the city. The CAP is also concerned with compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act at the K-25 site, and has called for DOE to halt plans for demolition of Building K-25 until the agency completes the NHPA assessment. Bechtel Jacobs, DOE's cleanup contractor, is in the process of issuing a request for proposals on that building and its sister facility, K-27, expected on the street soon. In addition, the CAP stated that Lower East Fork Poplar Creek water and sediment remediation is neglected in the project, and noted that without such, "cleanup of this off-site release will be considered incomplete." The accelerated cleanup program is expected to save about $2.2 billion in Oak Ridge, though savings could be higher if reindustrialization arrangements through the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee work out. CROET could lease up to 26 of the 460 buildings slated for cleanup and take-down. R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 43 Countries seek tougher 'right to know' on toxics - 11/26/2002 - ENN.com Tuesday, November 26, 2002 By Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters GENEVA, Switzerland — Negotiators from Europe, Central Asia, and North America began talks Monday to finalize an international pact to strengthen people's right to know about the presence of chemical waste and toxic pollutants. Under a draft plan, hammered out over two years of negotiations, states would set up national registers of industrial pollutants released into the water, air, and soil. The pact, which countries hope to be able to sign next year, covers the disposal, storage, recycling, or treatment of dangerous materials ranging from minerals to metals, fertilizers, and hydrocarbons. But the week-long talks, the last scheduled session of negotiations, come amid complaints by environmental groups that some toxic substances — radioactive waste and cancer-causing chemicals — risk being dropped from the draft deal under pressure from industry lobbyists. Friends of the Earth and other activists warn that some countries are pressing for known carcinogenic substances — such as beryllium, a metal used in some electronic appliances, and chromium VI, employed in pigments and dyes, leather tanning, and wood preserving — to be removed from the list. Another area of concern is styrene — a possible carcinogen used widely in rubber, plastics, insulation, fiberglass, and autoparts — which is also in line to be omitted. "The public should have the right to know what chemicals are being discharged by companies and where they are being stored," said Mary Taylor, researcher at Friends of the Earth. REVOLUTIONARY TREATY "Protecting certain sectors ... from public scrutiny or avoiding the inclusion of cancer-causing chemicals is scandalous," she added. The pact would be a protocol to the Aarhus Convention, billed as a revolutionary "environmental rights" treaty when signed by 35 states from Europe and Central Asia in 1998. The legally-binding treaty, which came into force last year, guarantees the public a voice in the state of their water, air, and land. Citizens were given more rights to sue industries and authorities who break green laws. The new protocol aims to go further by requiring countries to collect and publish a list of dangerous substances, although there is still debate on whether thresholds should be set for reporting specific amounts of toxins. "It is sort of a 'name and shame' effort to put pressure on companies to reduce emissions," said Jeremy Wates of the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe, the agency hosting the negotiations. Germany, which has a powerful chemicals industry, had been among countries pushing for a weaker protocol, Taylor said. But other countries, particularly from the former Soviet bloc, were alarmed at how much it could cost to enforce. "It is a new concept for newly democratic countries," she added. The protocol should be formally approved by environment ministers from ECE's European region, which includes Central Asia and North America, in Kiev, Ukraine, in May. Copyright 2002, Reuters Inc. Copyright © 2001 Environmental News Network Inc. ***************************************************************** 44 OR firm signs pact with UK The Oak Ridger Online -- Feature: Business -- 2:07 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2002 Advanced Measurement Technology, 801 S. Illinois Ave., Oak Ridge, a division of AMETEK Inc. Paoli, Pa. which includes ORTEC products,has signed a collaboration agreement with Hymatic Engineering Company Limited, Redditch, Worcestershire, United Kingdom. Under the terms of the agreement, the company says it has the exclusive commercial right to the use of Hymatic's Ultra-Long Life Miniature Stirling coolers for the cooling of High Purity Germanium Gamma-Ray detectors, of which ORTEC is the leading manufacturer. HPGe detectors offer high detection sensitivity as well as the ability to distinguish between natural radioactivity and harmful nuclear materials. The company says in a release they are of increasing importance in security applications for customs and police departments whose responsibility it is to intercept shipments of smuggled nuclear materials and for government agencies like the US Dept. of Energy that respond to emergency requests for identification of suspect cargo or packages. The technology is the result of a 10-year collaboration with the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University, UK. Early prototypes have already exceeded 55,000 hours of operation. An ORTEC spokesman commented, "In combination, these technologies represent a capability leap forward. A practical HPGe-based portable nuclear material identification system represents a great raising of the bar in the fight for homeland security." ORTEC products are manufactured and distributed by Advanced Measurement Technology Inc. Oak Ridge, (formerly PerkinElmer Instruments). Advanced Measurement Technology is a division of AMETEK Inc. (NYSE:AME), Paoli, Pa. leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electric motors with annual sales of more than $1 billion. For more information, visit www.ortec-online.com or call 1-800-251-9750 or e-mail: info@ortec-online.com. Hymatic was founded in 1937, and is an acknowledged world leader in the design and manufacture of miniature Joule-Thompson and Stirling cryogenic cooling devices and techniques for infra-red applications. The company operates out of a modern, purpose-built site in Redditch, Worcestershire, employing approximately 250 people and with annual sales of approximately $35 million. For more information, visit www.ortec-online.com [http://www.ortec-online.com] or call 1-800-251-9750 or e-mail: info@ortec-online.com [info@ortec-online.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 45 Russia Greens say security service oppressing them Reuters AlertNet - 26 Nov 2002 18:00 By Oliver Bullough MOSCOW, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Ecologists said on Tuesday a police swoop on a group denouncing radioactive pollution of Russia's unique Lake Baikal was part of a long-term security service campaign to crush environmental movements. Baikal Environmental Wave was raided on Friday evening by the FSB (Federal Security Service), one of the successor groups to the KGB, whose officers took documents and computers, saying they contained state secrets. More than 100 environmental and civil rights organisations signed a statement in protest at the raid on the group, which publicised business and government activities it said were harmful to the vast lake's environment. "Together with its fight against terrorism, fascism, drug smuggling and organised crime, the FSB is also conducting a fight against ecologists," the statement said. Lake Baikal, a UNESCO heritage site as big as Belgium, holds one-fifth of the world's fresh water. It saw some of the Soviet Union's first environmental protests -- against a factory which pollutes its waters to this day. Environmental movements have frequently confronted Russian authorities, especially since President Vladimir Putin came to power. Prominent environmentalist Grigory Pasko lost his appeal against a spying conviction this year for giving information to Japanese media about Russian dumping of nuclear waste off Russia's Pacific coast. In another celebrated case, former navy captain Alexander Nikitin was acquitted in 2000 when tried on treason charges for publishing data on radioactive pollution in Arctic seas. "The FSB is pushing (against environmentalists), and seeing if there is a reaction. If they get no reaction, that's fine, if there is one, they'll keep trying," Ivan Blokov, campaign director at Greenpeace Russia, told a news conference. Maps seized by the FSB, the domestic security agency, contained details compiled by the group of radioactive pollution round the lake. It also campaigned against a pipeline due to run to China through the area and backed by YUKOS, Russia's number two oil company, and the China National Petroleum Corp. The FSB made no reply to requests to comment on the raid. Group member Yulia Zhilina said members had been given no explanation, but she believed the raid was linked to campaigns against both the pipeline and nuclear power. "The agents did not tell us what they were looking for, each one had a different explanation," she said. "We will get together at the end of the week and analyse the situation. But I do not think we will retreat." ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************