***************************************************************** 11/27/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.308 ***************************************************************** 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 N Korea has Pak-made nukes, says defector 2 The Nuclear Threat is Real! 3 EU backs £1bn aid for BE 4 Nuclear stakes continue to rise 5 What will be the trigger for war? 6 Australia a nuclear leader 7 Schroeder rejects some U.S. requests for help on Iraq 8 US: NRC Issues Final Rule on Decommissioning Trust Provisions and 9 Kelly Presses NK for Actions Not Words 10 Talks with Pyongyang can wait 11 Effie Eitam’s nuclear pretensions will go the way of his predecessor 12 US: Bush's misguided nuclear gambit 13 US: In an age of biowarfare, US sees new role for nukes 14 EC approves £650m British Energy loan 15 The Saudi money trail 16 Greens vow to fight Eitam's plans for new Negev nuclear plant 17 US: El Paso Electric cuts '02 earnings forecast* 18 US: Why War With Iraq? Bush Owes Americans Some Clear Reasons 19 Schroeder rejects some U.S. requests for help on Iraq NUCLEAR REACTORS 20 US: US judge rejects mid-case appeal on Cheney papers* 21 Greenpeace joins nuclear plant protest* 22 US: NRC Approves Power Uprate for Indian Point 3 Nuclear Plant 23 SA OP: Koeberg nuclear plant 'important' 24 AU: Lucas Heights seeks a name 25 Israel plans construction of nuclear power plant 26 US: January restart of Davis-Besse now unlikely 27 US: Tupelo may invest $1 million in TVA nuclear plan 28 US: Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Nuclear reactors still have problems 29 US: Yankee sale foes lose round 30 US: Ameren's Callaway nuclear plant back in service - 31 Japan: NUCLEAR FREEZE/Cold war (TEPCO Scandal) 32 TEPCO tried to rush nuke reactor checks 33 Israel plans to build second nuclear reactor 34 US: Pro Main Yankee: Taxes Up 27% Next Year? 35 US: Operator makes plans to test damaged Ohio nuclear plant* NUCLEAR SAFETY 36 Wales: Deadly cargos could come to small airfields 37 Striking Belgians spark panic with nuclear sirens. NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 38 US: eWorkshop derided as pro-Yucca 'love-in' 39 US: Nevada lawmakers want probe of nuke dump whistleblowers’ removal 40 US: Nevada seeks nuclear dump report probe / Concerns covered up, 41 USEC layoffs begin voluntarily - 42 US: NRC: decon Wyoming FONSI 43 US: Fired Yucca worker wants congressional probe NUCLEAR WEAPONS 44 FORTY YEARS AFTER THE MISSILE CRISISA a reminder 45 Berlin Sends Mixed Signals on Iraq Issue 46 US: Sen. Lugar Plans Hearings on Iraq US DEPT. OF ENERGY 47 DOE lauds Livermore Lab patriarch 48 New Mexico Lab Fires Two Whistleblowers 49 Senate committee launching investigation of firings at Los Alamos 50 Energy Secretary Dedicates New Science Facility at Berkeley Lab 51 Abraham Presents Secretary's Gold Award to Edward Teller 52 Energy Secretary Tours, Speaks at Berkeley Lab* 53 Congress mulls inquiry into N.M. lab OTHER NUCLEAR 54 Russia: Maps Put Geologists on FSB's Hit List ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 N Korea has Pak-made nukes, says defector THE TIMES OF INDIA INDIATIMES CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2002 02:32:13 PM ] WASHINGTON: North Korea is in possession of nuclear bombs made with help from Pakistani engineers, a spy who has defected from the communist country has disclosed. Kenki Aoyama, an Osaka-born North Korean spy who has fled to Tokyo via Beijing has told the Japanese and Western media that he personally ran into a group of 30 to 40 visiting Pakistani engineers who were helping Pyongyang's nuclear program in the mid-1990s. Soon after, around 1996, North Korea acquired the centrifuges needed to enrich the uranium that goes into the bombs. Pakistan's nuclear program revolves almost entirely around the centrifuge method. "They were there to exchange technologies," Aoyama told /The Washington Post/ correspondent in Tokyo, following similar reports in the Japanese media. "The Pakistanis came to learn our missile technology. Pakistan, naturally, gave North Korea nuclear technology in return." US officials have broadly confirmed that such nukes-for-missiles exchanges took place in the 1990s but insist Pakistan has since closed the tap. Washington also believes North Korea does not have fully fabricated nuclear weapons, even as the renegade communist regime itself first confirmed it had the bombs and then denied it. But Aoyama's accounts suggest North Korea achieved the nuclear holy grail and the ceasing of Pakistani help may have come too late to save Japan, South Korea and a 100,000 US troops from the heebee-jeebies arising from atomic bombs in the hands of the renegade regime in Pyongyang. According to Aoyama, who uses a false named for fear of being hunted down, he was able to confirm that Pyongyang had achieved its objective when he ran into a North Korean scientist he knew at a bar in Beijing. The man looked terrible, thin and wan. His eyebrows had disappeared from accidental radiation, Aoyama told /The Washington Post/. "I said, 'Are you still working on it?' "Aoyama recalled in the /Post/. "No," came the reply. "It's done. We succeeded." "It" was a nuclear bomb, and Aoyama said the man told him that Pyongyang's long quest to obtain an atomic weapon had been achieved. Separately, Indian intelligence agencies also have information pinpointing the precise dates that Pakistan's nuclear scientist A Q Khan visited North Korea for collaboration on the bomb project. That information is being shared with the United States, officials in New Delhi said. US intelligence agencies have also tracked Pakistani movements, including the abuse of the C-130s transport planes it supplied, but American security officials say the Pakistanis would most certainly have manipulated the flight manifests. Aoyama defected to Tokyo some three years back and says he has since been telling the Japanese intelligence agencies about North Korea's bomb and missile program. Tokyo initially bought into the story and kept him on its payroll while debriefing him. He was even asked to testify before the Japanese parliament. But in recent days, the establishment has begun to raise questions about his credibility even as Aoyama has been writing in the media, giving interviews, and consorting with the Opposition parties in Japan. It appears the ruling party in Japan, which has been building bridges with North Korea, does not want to countenance any disclosures that might jeopardize its diplomatic efforts even though a nuclear weapon with Pyongyang would completely change the dynamics of the region. US efforts to negotiate and buy-out North Korea's full blown program while it decimates Iraq's less-developed plans may have something to do with Tokyo's reluctance to air Aoyama's story. | ***************************************************************** 2 The Nuclear Threat is Real! DEBKAfile From *DEBKA/file/*’s Special Counter-Terror Sources November 9, 2002, 10:41 PM (GMT+02:00) Nuclear power station - prime target for terrorists A bureaucratic mix-up in London Friday, November 8, forced British officialdom into the unwilling admission that international terrorists may now wield a nuclear threat and it could be aimed at Britain. On Thursday, November 7, Tom Ridge, US homeland minister and senior member of the Bush cabinet, said to the center for defense studies at King’s College London: “Our transportation networks, power generating plants and industries can be attacked with potentially catastrophic consequences. Our public safety and health infrastrucfures can be quickly overwhelmed producing casualties in the thousands or tens of thousands. This is the inescapable reality of the 21st century.” After the lecture, Ridge went into conference with British Home Minister, David Blunkett. Hours later, Britain had its first major warning of a potential “dirty bomb” or poison gas attack by “fanatical extremists of al Qaeda, who would attempt to strike again”. This is the text of the warning handed out to the British media on Friday, November 8: “Maybe they will try to develop a so-called dirty bomb, or some kind of poison gas; maybe they will try to use boats or trains rather than planes. The bottom line is that we simply cannot be sure. We cannot be sure of when or where or how terrorists will strike. But we can be sure they will try.” The furor raised by this release hit the fan in Number 10 Downing Street, spoiling its careful attempts to avoid panicking the country about a nuclear or chemical threat. In no time, a sanitized version of the original handout was released - no mention of dirty bombs or poison gas, no specified targets. On that same Friday, the head of Interpol, Alfred Noble, in an interview with the Paris La Figaro, warned that Osama bin Laden was alive and that al Qaeda was preparing simultaneous attacks in several countries in addition to the United States. Its plan was to cause not a local but an international catastrophe. “Something worrying is going on,” the international policeman admitted. *DEBKA/file/* and our electronic weekly DEBKA-Net-Weekly have repeatedly reported since soon after the September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that both the Iraqis and al Qaeda have procured some small type of nuclear or radioactive weapon. It is more advanced than the “dirty bomb”, which spreads radioactive contamination by means of a conventional bomb. However, most governments, seriously concerned by the economic slowdown engendered by international terrorism and the global war for its eradication have preferred to play down the information, hoping to avert further irreversible damage to such industries as hotels, transportation, aviation, tourism and consumer trade in general. Now the bad news is out in the open: the British public has been told the truth, however inadvertently. According to *DEBKA/file/*’s counter- terror sources, potential alerts registered in the second week of November include: --- Possible nuclear or chemical attacks in North American, West European and Middle East cities. The alert for London pinpoints The City, government offices, the Underground and the Thames River. --- In pursuit of massive casualties, terrorists may resort to bomb cars or kamikaze pilots. Ships loaded with many tons of explosives of all types – some containing nuclear substances – may crash into Western harbors such as London, New York, Tel Aviv or Haifa. *Copyright 2002 DEBKA/file/. All Rights Reserved.* ***************************************************************** 3 EU backs £1bn aid for BE Scotsman.com /IAIN DEY BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT/ EUROPEAN regulators rubber-stamped the government?s controversial aid package for British Energy yesterday, clearing the way for more than £1 billion to be handed to the company to keep it afloat. The troubled nuclear power generator?s existing £650 million loan package ? which expires on Friday ? can now be extended to up to £899 million, with a further £276 million permitted for ?identified contingencies?. News of the ruling fuelled talk that the government will extend British Energy?s loan package to avoid it sliding into administration, helping the battered shares edge up more than 2.2 per cent to 16.88p. The European Commission said: ?The aid was warranted on the grounds that there is a risk of disruption in the supply of electricity in the United Kingdom and to ensure nuclear safety.? The aid was granted on the condition that a full restructuring is in place by 9 March, 2003. The government must report monthly to the commission on the payments made, and inform it of any substantial change in the company?s situation. East Kilbride-based British Energy will have to repay the state loans at market interest rates, and it must not use state credit facilities for capital expenditure ? such as increasing production capacity. Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt is expected to announce today whether or not the government will take up the commission?s permission to extend the loan facility. A spokesman for the Department of Trade and industry said: ?This decision confirms what we?ve said all along ? that the package is in full compliance with EU state-aid rules. ?This allows us to provide British Energy with further aid if necessary and means we don?t have to keep reapplying.? He added: ?This decision gives scope for all possible outcomes, including administration and solvent restructuring.? British Energy has only drawn down 60 per cent of its existing £650 million loan facility. Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said: ?The commission has been hoodwinked by the government. ?Just when there is a demand for taxpayers? money to be spent prudently, over £1 billion is handed on a plate to British Energy for electricity that is not needed ? all the while the distortion of the market causes innocent companies to go to the wall and we all get more radioactive waste.? ©2002 scotsman.com | contact ***************************************************************** 4 Nuclear stakes continue to rise Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Paul Brown Wednesday November 27, 2002 The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk] The nuclear liabilities of both British Nuclear Fuels and the Ministry of Defence are far greater than the government has admitted, the trade and industry select committee claimed yesterday. When the government admitted that BNFL was technically bankrupt in November 2001, its liabilities were even greater than the government stated at the time, the MPs say. In a statement to the Commons, the secretary of state for trade and industry, Patricia Hewitt, said the company's liabilities had increased by £1.9bn. In fact, they had increased by £2.4bn to £20bn, the committee said. The Ministry of Defence liabilities had also increased by £1.2bn to £6.7bn. MPs are concerned that when the liabilities management authority takes over the assets and debts of BNFL, the taxpayer should not be asked to pay an even larger bill than is calculated. Under government proposals, BNFL will continue to exist and operate the Sellafield reprocessing works and other businesses. Many of the contracts operated by BNFL have penalty clauses for poor performance. When the LMA takes over it should be BNFL that takes responsibility for any management failures, not the public, the MPs say. In another report yesterday from energy experts ILEX, questions are raised about the need to keep British Energy afloat. Greenpeace commissioned the study to discover whether it was necessary to keep nuclear power stations open, or whether other kinds of power stations could cope. ILEX said there would still be 20% overcapacity if existing plants that have been mothballed were brought back into use. Useful links British Energy [http://www.british-energy.com/] Department of Trade and Industry [http://www.dti.gov.uk/] British Nuclear Fuels Ltd [http://www.bnfl.co.uk/website.nsf/default.htm] Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament [http://www.cnduk.org/] Greenpeace [http://www.greenpeace.org/homepage/] HSE nuclear glossary [http://www.hse.gov.uk/nsd/ilrwglos.htm] UK atomic energy authority [http://www.ukaea.org.uk/] National Radiological Protection Board [http://www.nrpb.org.uk/] Friends of the Earth [http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/press_for_change/dump_nuc lear/index.html] World Nuclear Association [http://www.uilondon.org/] World Nuclear Transport Institute [http://www.wnti.co.uk] [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 ***************************************************************** 5 What will be the trigger for war? Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | As inspectors begin checking Iraqi sites, peace hinges on the interpretation of one phrase: 'material breach' Julian Borger in Washington and Ewen MacAskill Wednesday November 27, 2002 The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk] UN weapons inspectors begin their work in Iraq today, launching a tense new chapter in the confrontation with Saddam Hussein in which war and peace are likely to hinge on the legal interpretation of two words: "material breach". The UN teams refused to disclose the target of their first inspection, but observers predicted it would be a suspected weapons site visited by earlier inspections in the 1990s. The White House put Baghdad on notice that it would be closely scrutinised for its behaviour towards the inspectors, and that Mr Bush would have "zero tolerance" for infractions. One of the two chief weapons inspectors, Hans Blix, has warned that the burden of proof will be on Iraq, saying he would demand "convincing evidence" in the form of documents or testimony from officials, that weapons material that has not yet been accounted for, has been destroyed. A material breach, or substantial violation, of UN resolution 1441 - which established the rules for inspections earlier this month - would, according to the resolution, trigger "serious consequences" for Saddam Hussein's regime. At a time when the US is massing its forces in the Gulf, there is little doubt what those consequences are likely to be. Much will depend, then, on what the UN security council deems to be a sufficiently serious violation to constitute such a breach. For example, would a simple incident of deception be enough, or would it require a pattern of behaviour? US hawks want the concept of material breach to serve as a "hair trigger" for action. The French and Russians want it as a safety catch; but if they refuse to acknowledge any violation, no matter how egregious, as a material breach, the US and Britain say they will go to war without UN blessing. But there are conflicting views not only among Washington, London, Paris, Moscow and Beijing, but also within the British and US governments. The threshold for launching a war put forward by Tony Blair on Monday was radically different from the one proposed by the foreign secretary, Jack Straw. The differences within the Bush administration are at least as serious. There has already been a row over the issue, days before the inspectors set foot in Iraq. The US claimed that Iraqi anti-aircraft fire against American and British planes patrolling the no-fly zones over the country constituted a "hostile act" against personnel from a UN member state, under paragraph 8 of the resolution. However, every other security council member, including Britain, insisted that this clause was intended to refer only to Iraqi behaviour towards the inspection teams. Washington opted not to take its complaint to the council, knowing it would be voted down, but it may well bring the incident up later if it seeks to prove a pattern of non-compliance. The high-stakes debate is likely to get progressively more heated as the consensus behind Resolution 1441 is tested by events in Iraq, starting with Baghdad's declaration of its biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, due on December 8. Here are six possible scenarios and an analysis of whether they could lead to war: · On December 8, Iraq admits it has weapons of mass destruction and gives full details to the inspectors This would not constitute a material breach, but rather the best-case scenario for inspections, paving the way for full disarmament. It is generally seen as over-optimistic. · On December 8, Iraq denies that it has weapons of mass destruction In such a case, Baghdad could simply send in a short note of denial - or, more likely, a long list of non-military factories and laboratories, and invite inspections of the sites. In that case, the US and Britain will denounce the declaration as a lie, because both countries claim to have intelligence that Iraq has substantial weapons programmes. However, it is far from clear that the declaration would represent a material breach. Paragraph 4 of resolution 1441 states that "false statements or omissions" in the declaration and failure to cooperate with the inspectors would constitute a material breach. The use of "and" rather than "or" was intensively debated by the security council, and was a condition for its unanimous support for the resolution. Despite hints to the contrary from Tony Blair, British government officials say the declaration alone will not provide a justification for military action. The US state department privately agrees. However, the White House is keeping its options open. A spokesman, Sean McCormack, said yesterday that "any omission or deception in the declaration would be a material breach". Hawks in the Pentagon and US vice president's office have warned the president that the December 8 declaration may be the best opportunity to catch Saddam in a violation. The inspectors, they say, may not be able to find anything. · UN inspectors find evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction The consequences of this would depend on how strong the evidence is. If there is any ambiguity at all, France and Russia are likely to resist calls to declare a material breach. The British say they are willing to return with fresh evidence again and again to make their case. The US may be less patient, as it would rather go to war during the winter months. · Iraqi officials try to obstruct weapons inspections Again, it would be a question of degree. A single instance of a delay in opening up a suspected site is unlikely to spark a war. A pattern of delays or outright refusal to provide access to a site or an official, however, would be more serious. The US would press the security council hard. Other member states would find it increasingly difficult to veto declarations of a material breach without provoking a US-British walkout. Much will depend on how Iraqi behaviour is described by both Mr Blix and Mohammed el-Baradei, his chief weapons inspector. · Iraq is caught red-handed in a deception Earlier inspectors sometimes found that when they arrived at a suspect site, material left by the back door. On at least one occasion, the ruse was captured on film by an American spy plane. A similar incident now would be likely to set off a war. · The Iraqis cooperate and the inspectors find nothing Many former inspectors believe this the most likely scenario. They say Iraq has had plenty of time to hide any incriminating evidence, perhaps burying it deep in the desert. In that case, the US and Britain will face a serious dilemma which is likely to drive a wedge between them. Britain would be content to maintain increasingly aggressive inspections. The US would be more likely to demand action. Useful links Arab Gateway: Iraq briefing [http://www.al-bab.com/arab/countries/iraq.htm] Middle East Daily [http://www.middleeastdaily.com/] Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq [http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/casi/] Iraq sanctions - UN security council [http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/sanction/indexone.htm] UN special commission on Iraq [http://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/index.html] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 ***************************************************************** 6 Australia a nuclear leader The Australian: This story is from our news.com.au network Source: AAP By Holly Nott November 27, 2002 AUSTRALIA'S position as a world leader in the research and development of nuclear-based science will be cemented by a newly-launched research team, a senior scientist said today. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) executive director Helen Garnett said the Bragg Institute would "place Australia at the forefront of research using neutrons, synchrotrons and x-rays". The institute - named after the Nobel Peace Prize-winning team of William and Lawrence Bragg, who pioneered the science of crystal structure analysis - was officially launched at the ANSTO site at Lucas Heights in Sydney today. "This is a team of people that we're bringing together to form a real nucleus for neutron and x-ray science," Prof Garnett said. "There are 50 of our staff who have been brought together immediately and we have joint appointments under discussion with a number of universities and international government-funded activities. "One of the groups we're also talking to at the moment is an international consortium of industry and university activity." Prof Garnett said the institute was the first in Australia to focus solely on the applications of both neutrons and x-rays to scientific problems such as those blocking the development of new materials, including biodegradable plastic. "Internationally you find some teams of people but the concept of bringing them together and linking institutes across Australia and internationally - while not novel in the EU - is not something Australia has done a huge amount of," she said. The institute was launched in association with an Australia-wide competition for high school students to name the replacement research reactor at Lucas Heights, currently under construction and referred to as RRR. "It is absolutely correct that our young people are our future and it is important that their interest in science and other technologies is encouraged and stimulated," Prof Garnett said. It was hoped the competition would make students more aware of what was happening in Australian nuclear science and cultivate their interest in the field, she said. The winning entrant will be judged in March next year with prizes to the value of $10,000 up for grabs. © The Australian ***************************************************************** 7 Schroeder rejects some U.S. requests for help on Iraq BERLIN, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder responded coolly on Wednesday to a U.S. request for help in the event of an Iraq war, agreeing to grant flyover rights for U.S. forces but declining other demands from Washington. Schroeder said the United States had asked Germany to open its air space. It had also asked Berlin to provide defence systems against chemical, biological and nuclear attack as well as military police, missile defence systems and financial and material help for possible reconstruction. Schroeder, who angered the United States with his firm rejection of German involvement in an Iraq war during his re-election campaign, told reporters it remained "clear as glass" that Germany would stay out of a conflict, and that it continued to assume there would be no war. Germany would grant flyover and transit rights for troops from the United States and other NATO countries and would accede to a request from Israel for U.S.-built Patriot missiles, purely defensive systems designed to intercept and shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, Schroeder told a news conference. He also said Germany would agree to provide Israel with some of its Fuchs armoured vehicles, which are equipped to detect chemical, biological and nuclear contamination. The Israeli government made a request for vehicles two days ago, he said. But he ruled out military help going beyond that. "We do not intend to provide further resources beyond what I have said, and definitely no more personnel," Schroeder said. He ruled out any of the Fuchs vehicles stationed in Kuwait as part of Washington's declared war on terrorism could be used in any military action against Iraq. Asked if Germany would help rebuild Iraq after any war there, Schroeder said: "We expect that there will be no need for a military intervention and that is the German government's political goal, and I think it would be wrong to assume...the country will have to be rebuilt." The United States has asked 51 states for assistance in the event of a military strike on Iraq. Schroeder's coalition of Social Democrats and pacifist-leaning Greens has a slim majority of just four seats in the Bundestag lower house of parliament since September's election. Stationing German troops abroad requires parliamentary approval and Schroeder's government might face an embarrassing defeat if it took any decisions on troop movements that would involve a Bundestag vote. ***************************************************************** 8 NRC Issues Final Rule on Decommissioning Trust Provisions and Regulatory Guide NRC: News Release - 2002-136 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-136 November 25, 2002 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is revising its regulations on decommissioning trust provisions for commercial nuclear power plants, and issuing a regulatory guide that could be used by power plant licensees to implement the regulations. The final rule will (1) help safeguard decommissioning trust funds from investment risks; (2) ensure licensees provide adequate information to NRC about their trusts; and (3) provide safeguard against improper payments from these trusts. The rule requires that decommissioning trust agreements be in an appropriate form to provide greater assurance that an adequate amount of decommissioning funds will be available. Until recently, direct NRC oversight of the terms and conditions of the decommissioning trusts was not necessary because State regulators typically exercised this authority. With deregulation, however, this oversight may cease and the NRC may need to take a more active oversight role. Also, based on the NRCs recent experience with transfers of operating licenses of several nuclear power plants, the NRC believes the final rule will help expedite similar transfers in the future by providing increased regulatory predictability. The final rule and accompanying revisions to regulatory guidance will provide uniform decommissioning trust terms and conditions for nuclear power reactor licensees that are not subject to State or Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulation. All power reactor licensees will be required to notify the NRC in advance of decommissioning trust withdrawals if made prior to permanent cessation of operations. Under the final rule, the criteria that have been required as conditions of license transfer in connection with the sale of nuclear power reactors will be incorporated as part of a proposed new section of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations under Part 50.75. The conditions are as follows: + The trust must be an external trust fund held in the United States, established pursuant to a written agreement with an entity that is an appropriate State or Federal government agency or whose operations are regulated by a State or Federal agency. + The trust agreement must prohibit trust investments in securities or other obligations of any reactor owner or its affiliates, successors, or assigns, or provide that no more than 10% of their trust assets may be in these securities or other obligations. + The trust agreement must prohibit investments in any entity owning one or more nuclear power plants (except for investments tied to general market indices or non-nuclear sector mutual funds) and prohibit investments in a mutual fund in which at least 50% of the fund is invested in the securities of a parent company whose subsidiary is an owner of a foreign or domestic nuclear power plant. + The trust agreement must stipulate that the agreement cannot be amended in any material respect without 30 working days prior written notice to the NRC, and there is no objection from the NRC. + The trust agreement must stipulate that the trustee, investment advisor, or anyone else directing investments made by the trust should act prudently. + The trust agreement must provide that no disbursements or payments from the trust (other than payment of routine administrative expenses or for withdrawals made pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82 [a] [8]) may be made by the trustee until the trustee has first given the NRC 30 working days prior written notice and the NRC has not objected. + The person directing the investment of the funds is prohibited from representing the licensee or its affiliates or subsidiaries as the investment manager for the funds or accepting day-to-day management direction of the funds investments or direction on individual investments by the funds from the licensee or its affiliates or subsidiaries. A proposed rule on this subject was published in the Federal Register (66 FR 29244) on May 30 of last year. A total of 36 comments were received from licensees, utility groups, State agencies and commissions, the National Association of State Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), and investment management companies. Regulatory Guide 1.159, Assuring the Availability of Funds for Decommissioning Nuclear Reactors, Revision 1, contains guidance to be used by nuclear power plant licensees in implementing the changes in NRC regulations. It will be available shortly on the NRC Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC Public Document Room staff by telephone at 301-415-4737 or 1-800-397-4209, or by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov [pdr@nrc.gov] . Single copies of the documents will also be available for inspection and/or copying for a fee in the NRC Public Document Room, located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Tuesday, November 26, 2002 ***************************************************************** 9 Kelly Presses NK for Actions Not Words Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English Updated Nov.27,2002 16:32 KST Actions not words are what the United States wants from North Korea with regard to dismantling their nuclear weapons program. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly was responding to Pyongyang's demands for a non-aggression treaty with Washington during an interview on Tuesday. Kelly said it was time for actions rather than negotiations and dialogue and that the US was still trying to get the Stalinist state to understand that their weapons programs was a serious problem. The latest offer from Pyongyang came last weekend in an unusual move when they asked Seoul to help quell pressure from Washington by calling for a "nationwide" effort to coerce the US into signing a non-aggression pact. Kelly did not rule out the treaty with the North but said it was a big issue. He also noted President George Bush has emphasized several times the US has no plans to attack North Korea and that Pyongyang is repeatedly pointing to a threat posture that does not exist from his side. (Arirang TV) ***************************************************************** 10 Talks with Pyongyang can wait Daily Yomiuri On-Line Yomiuri Shimbun The prospects for a resumption of negotiations to normalize ties between Japan and North Korea within this year look bleak. Hitoshi Tanaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, held unofficial talks on the issue with a North Korean official concerned in Dalian, China, but made no concrete progress. But this does not mean that the government should get rattled. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has instructed Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi that the ministry should keep pressuring North Korea to agree to resume the talks. As far as Japan is concerned, there are two primary conditions for a resumption of the talks: Pyongyang must agree that five Japanese who were abducted to North Korea a quarter-century ago and currently are in Japan should remain permanently in this country with their family members now living in North Korea, and Pyongyang must abandon its nuclear weapons development program. The government should deal with North Korea resolutely and stick to these conditions. Normalization talks are unlikely to restart by year-end because North Korea has taken a hard line over Japan's refusal to let the five abductees return to North Korea, a move that Pyongyang described as a "breach of promise" by the Japanese side. Pyongyang up to its same old tricks It is obvious that Pyongyang is attempting to turn the negotiations to its advantage by using the family members of the returnees living in North Korea as pawns. Japan should not be fooled by North Korea's maneuvering. The House of Representatives Health, Labor and Welfare Committee on Wednesday unanimously endorsed a bill that would facilitate government measures to support the abductees and members of the abductees' families in North Korea who rejoin them in Japan. The bill clearly states that the abduction cases constituted an "unprecedented criminal act committed by a state." It is glaringly obvious that North Korea is wholly in the wrong and should back down. The abductees have expressed their intention to remain in Japan. Their relatives in Japan have vowed "to make no concession." The government should do its utmost to enable the abductees' family members, including their children, to come to Japan by taking into account the wishes of the abductees and their relatives in this country. Punitive steps may be necessary Meanwhile, some within the government reportedly have refloated the idea of Japan's extending rice aid to North Korea. Such assistance, they say, would help break the stalemate in the normalization talks. In recent years, the government has extended a total of 1.18 million tons of rice to North Korea. For all such assistance, no progress was made toward settlement of the abduction issues. The government should not repeat such folly. In the bilateral talks between Japan and North Korea, the government should keep focusing on Pyongyang's nuclear arms program. North Korea recently admitted that it had secretly maintained its nuclear arms program, using enriched uranium, in violation of international accords, including the 1994 Agreed Framework with the United States. The international community repeatedly has called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms program. Within the U.S. administration, hard-line voices have called not only for suspending supplies of heavy fuel oil to North Korea, but also reviewing the ongoing project to construct light-water reactors in North Korea, both agreed on under the 1994 accord. Japan, in cooperation with the United States, needs to forge an iron will within the international community to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. Japan also should seek the cooperation of South Korea, China and Russia in this regard. As long as North Korea refuses to heed calls for it to abandon its nuclear arms program, it may become necessary to study the possibility of taking punitive measures against North Korea. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 28) Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 11 Effie Eitam’s nuclear pretensions will go the way of his predecessors’. Fact or fission? David Hayoun 27 Nov 02 16:01 For some years, every incoming Minister of Energy/National Infrastructures has fallen into the populist trap laid for him by various advisors and has hurried to announce that he would promote the construction of a nuclear power plant. Every one of those ministers and experts forgot one critical detail Israel has not signed, and for the foreseeable future will not sign, the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. For this reason, Israel is totally unable to purchase nuclear power reactors. It’s obvious that Israel can only sign such a convention when Arab and Muslim countries no longer threaten its security, and in all probability, this will not happen for at least another generation. The matter was well put by former Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) CEO Rafi Peled, who some years ago said, “The decision will in any case be political, and there will probably no nuclear power plant for the next 20 years.” Nuclear energy has developed worldwide, and is considered the energy of the future, in view of the fact that natural gas reserves are expected to run out in a few decades, while coal is more expensive. The IEC has still not begun exploiting the gas reserves offered by Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian Authority suppliers. It is reasonable to assume that these reserves will last for 20 years. A year ago, Peled said that the cost of construction a nuclear power plant, double the construction cost of a coal-fired plant, and six times the cost of a natural gas plant, should be taken into account. He noted that opposition by environmental organizations had paralyzed nuclear technology worldwide, and the option could only be reconsidered in the distant future. Recent international energy conferences delivered a clear message that the world will use less and less nuclear energy, because of both the campaign by the environmental organizations and the additional gas reserves discovered in recent years. There have been various reports in recent years concerning plans to construct a nuclear power plant in Israel. Immediately after the report, however, all those concerned, including the IEC, hurried to announce that the issue was not really on the agenda. This can also be anticipated in this case, since nothing has really happened lately to change the situation, except for the appointment of a new minister, who also wants to get into the history books as someone who grandly about the nuclear power plant that would be constructed in the Negev very soon. /Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on November 27, 2002/ Globes Scepia ***************************************************************** 12 Bush's misguided nuclear gambit Asia Times COMMENT By Frida Berrigan (Posted with permission from Foreign Policy in Focus) Is the United States president turning "new age"? Not only has he massaged the United Nations Security Council into a unanimous vote demanding that Iraq accept weapons inspections, but he seems to have embraced guided meditation practices. In his November 7 press conference at the executive office building, President George W Bush led the audience through a visualization exercise. "Imagine Saddam Hussein with a nuclear weapon," he said. "Imagine how the Israeli citizens would feel. Imagine how the citizens of Saudi Arabia would feel. Imagine how the world would change, how he could alter diplomacy by the very presence of a nuclear weapon." Bush raised the issue of Saddam's nuclear weapons at least three times in his 47-minute session with the press, saying at one point that the world community doesn't "like the idea of Saddam Hussein having a nuclear weapon". Despite the emotional resonance of this exercise, Saddam's nuclear weapons program appears to be little more than an idea. Reports from the CIA, the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) and other expert groups seem to confirm that Saddam does not have nuclear weapons, and could not easily build them for years. The CIA, in a report released in October, concluded, "Saddam Hussein probably doesn't have sufficient material to make any [nuclear weapons]" although "he remains intent on acquiring them." The report concluded, "Iraq is unlikely to produce indigenously enough weapons-grade material for a deliverable nuclear weapon until the last half of this decade. Baghdad could produce a nuclear weapon within a year if it were able to procure weapons-grade fissile material abroad." But that is a big if. Reports from the IAEA, the UN agency responsible for inspections and disarmament of Iraq's nuclear programs from 1991 to 1998, indicate that the facilities that housed Iraq's nuclear weapons program were either destroyed during the 1991 Gulf War or in subsequent IAEA raids. The IAEA withdrew from Iraq when the Clinton administration's bombing campaign made it impossible to continue work, but their conclusions up until then support the CIA's findings. The IAEA states that "nothing indicated that Iraq had produced more than a few grams of weapons-grade nuclear material through its indigenous enrichment processes, or that Iraq had secretly acquired weapons-usable material from external sources". One reporter asked the president to comment on CIA director George Tenet's statement that Saddam, "now appears to be drawing a line short of conducting terrorist attacks against the United States". But if the US attacked, he would "probably become much less constrained". Bush failed to respond to the question, but Tenet's statement raises concerns about Washington provoking Saddam to a higher level of aggression. Bush admitted that in his speech, saying, "By the way, we don't know how close he is to a nuclear weapon right now. We know he wants one. But we don't know. We know he was close to one at one point in time. We have no idea today". It's one thing to argue that we need to be vigilant in our efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, given the flaws in US intelligence gathering. It's quite another to go to war on the grounds that "we don't know" how close a country is to acquiring them. If nuclear weapons are really the president's concern, he should give UN inspectors the time they need to find out what Iraq's capabilities are, and to eliminate them. And he should commit the United States to a concrete timetable for eliminating its own massive nuclear arsenal, along with a policy of neither using nor threatening to use nuclear weapons first in any conflict. Instead, his administration seems intent on using the first glitch in UN inspections, however minor, as a trigger for war, whether or not other UN Security Council members agree. That would be a terrible mistake, and a terrible precedent. Might makes right is a recipe for war without end, not the peace that Bush claims to be seeking. (Posted with permission from Foreign Policy in Focus) Copyright Asia Times Online, 6306 The Center, Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong. ***************************************************************** 13 In an age of biowarfare, US sees new role for nukes csmonitor.com from the November 26, 2002 edition In an age of biowarfare, US sees new role for nukes Bush administration mulls resuming nuclear testing and developing tactical warheads to deal with threats like Iraq. By Brad Knickerbocker | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor As United Nations inspectors fan out across Iraq - looking for evidence of Saddam Hussein's secret arsenal - the United States is rethinking the future of its own weapons of mass destruction. Among the issues being discussed by US officials and the experts who advise them in this era of stateless terrorism and other forms of "unconventional warfare" are these: The resumption of nuclear weapons testing; ambivalence over controlling chemical and biological weapons at a time when advancing technology offers new opportunities to control the battlefield; and the possible development of tactical nuclear bombs to go after the kind of hardened targets that more than 70 countries - especially Iraq - now use to hide their most threatening weapons. All of this would be happening even if the terrorist attacks of 9/11 had not occurred, even if war with Iraq were not as close as it is today. But the earthshaking events that have marked the beginning of the 21st century focus attention on the most intimidating military assets belonging to the world's lone superpower. The US hasn't test-fired any nuclear devices since 1992. Officials figure it would take two to three years to be ready to resume testing. The administration wants to reduce that to a shorter period - not only to ensure that its aging stockpile of warheads is dependable, but also to allow the testing of any newly designed weapons. The Pentagon's congressionally mandated Nuclear Posture Review calls for a "revitalized nuclear weapons complex that will ... be able, if directed, to design, develop, manufacture, and certify new warheads in response to new national requirements; and maintain readiness to resume underground nuclear testing if required." More recently, a senior official urged reconsideration of the 10-year US moratorium on testing. "We will need to refurbish several aging weapons systems," said defense undersecretary Edward Aldridge in an October memo to senior nuclear policymakers. "We must also be prepared to respond to new nuclear-weapon requirements in the future." Congress recently authorized the nation's nuclear weapons labs to weigh the benefits and costs of being able to test such weapons within six months. While highly precise conventional arms - laser-guided bolts from the blue - made headlines in Afghanistan, many experts say they will never completely replace nuclear weapons. "To ensure that enemy facilities or forces are knocked out and cannot be reconstituted, attacks with nuclear weapons may be necessary," the National Institute for Public Policy in Fairfax, Va., reported last year. "The United States may need to field simple, low-yield, precision-guided nuclear weapons for possible use against select hardened targets such as underground biological weapons." Several of that report's authors are now officials in the Bush administration, including Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Defense Science Board chairman William Schneider. One of the attractions of small nuclear weapons, in the eyes of some theorists, is that they can more effectively destroy biological or chemical stockpiles than can conventional explosives. In Geneva recently, Stephen Rademaker. US assistant secretary of state for arms control, said he was "very pleased" with international adoption of measures to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention. He warned, however, that the 1972 treaty banning such weapons is "inherently unverifiable." This implies that the US needs to know as much as possible about any biological or chemical threats it may face. The difficulty here is that even preparing to defend against such weapons requires research on the weapons themselves. In its examination of biomedical sciences and the pharmaceutical industry - both involved in Pentagon projects - the Federation of American Scientists reports that "an immense amount of time and money [is] being invested" in new technologies that could "significantly complicate the control of chemical and biological weapons." Arms-control advocates also worry that defending against such weapons - especially those in underground bunkers - may increase the pressure to develop small,tactical nuclear weapons. At this point, although official discussions have escalated, there is no rush to resume a nuclear arms race that had abated in recent years. "Candidly, I cannot detect any plausible nuclear warfighting scenarios in the 'axis of evil' context," says John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org [http://Globalsecurity.org] , an analysis organization in Alexandria, Va., (referring to Bush's characterization of Iran, Iraq, and North Korea). "I am guessing that much of this is a discussion about [China]." As is often the case with what could be a politically wrenching change in military strategy and doctrine, those in uniform tend to be more cautious than their civilian bosses. "In my experience, there is little to zero interest among military leaders in actually using nuclear weapons," says Larry Seaquist, a retired Navy warship captain and Pentagon strategist. "They recognize that nuclear employment, by breaking the half-century taboo since the two weapons used [on Japan] in 1945, would take us into a whole new world." "They also recognize that the calculus of nuclear weapon use is totally different in these rogue-nation situations like Iraq than it was in the cold war," says Captain Seaquist. In other words, the old balance-of-terror nuclear regime of "mutual assured destruction" that kept the United States and the former Soviet Union from blowing each other up doesn't necessarily work with rogue states such as Iraq or with stateless terrorist organizations such as Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda. For further information: • US weapons secrets exposed [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,821241,00.h tml] Guardian • Defense Department Nuclear Doctrine [http://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/doctrine/dod/] FAS • Chemical and Biological Arms Control Project [http://www.fas.org/bwc/] FAS • Tactical Nuclear Weapons: The Nature of the Problem [http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/tnw_nat.htm] Center for Nonproliferation Studies • Chemical & Biological Weapons Resources [http://cns.miis.edu/research/cbw/] Center for Nonproliferation Studies • An Overview of Current and Planned U.S. Nuclear Weapons [http://www.nukewatch.org/facts/nwd/weap.html] NukeWatch.org • New Nuclear Weapons Development and Anti-Disarmament Policies [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/prolif/npt98/npt_98_ngo8.html] Nuclearfiles.org • Weapons of Mass Destruction [http://www.ceip.org/files/nonprolif/weapons/default.asp] Carnegie Endowment for International Peace www.csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2002 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 14 EC approves £650m British Energy loan Ananova - The European Commission has approved the Government's £650 million emergency loan to British Energy to keep the power giant in business. The aid was warranted on the grounds that there was a risk of disruption in the supply of electricity and to ensure nuclear safety, the Commission says. But the EC says aid would be "strictly limited" to the amount necessary to keep the company afloat. A cap of £899 million has been set, plus £276 million for contingencies, the Commission said in a statement. "Approval of the rescue aid is based on the UK Government's undertaking to present to the Commission within six months a comprehensive restructuring plan for British Energy. "The UK Government undertook to monthly report to the Commission on the payments made to British Energy and to inform the Commission of any substantial change in the situation of the group," said the statement. The Department of Trade and Industry said: "Today's decision confirms that the loan facility we put in place to provide rescue aid for British Energy is in full compliance with the Commission's guidelines. "The very nature of our rescue aid to BE was necessarily urgent to prevent BE from immediate collapse. Our overriding priorities have always been to ensure the safety of nuclear power in the UK, and maintain security of supply of our electricity supplies. The loan, made in two parts, is due to run until the end of this week. British Energy employs 5,200 workers and has nuclear plants at Torness and Hunterston in Scotland, Dungeness in Kent, Heysham, near Blackpool, Hartlepool, Sizewell in Suffolk and Hinckley Point in Somerset. Story filed: 17:04 Wednesday 27th November 2002 Copyright © 2002 Ananova Ltd ***************************************************************** 15 The Saudi money trail [St. Petersburg Times Online: Opinion: Editorials and Letters] TampaBay.com" [http://www.tampabay.com/] A Times Editorial Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are among the supposed U.S. allies with longstanding links to terrorism that the White House has seemed reluctant to explore. © St. Petersburg Times published November 27, 2002 No matter how it is explained away, the inconvenient fact remains that the wife of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia's longtime ambassador to the United States, sent thousands of dollars to a Saudi family in San Diego that was befriending two men who later were among the Sept. 11 hijackers. There is no reason to believe that the Saudi royal family would have knowingly supported the most horrific terrorist acts in U.S. history. Those crimes damaged the Saudi government's political and economic interests, too. However, the embarrassing -- and potentially explosive -- revelation is further evidence of the complex, morally ambiguous relationship between the Saudi regime and Islamic terrorism. The Saudi dictatorship made a deal with the devil long ago, choosing to tolerate -- and in many cases encourage and subsidize -- Islamic extremism, as long as the extremists' anger remained focused on Washington or Jerusalem instead of Riyadh. The revelation also sheds further light on the Bush administration's curious reluctance to give the Saudis' double-dealing the scrutiny it deserves. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin startled international journalists when he said more attention should be paid to "those who finance terrorism" and reminded his audience that 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 terrorists were Saudis. Putin's blunt comments were startling not because they were incorrect or inappropriate; everything Putin said is true and important. Instead, the words were startling because they were so much more candid than anything that has been said on the subject by the man standing next to Putin at the time: President Bush. U.S. authorities have complained quietly for more than a year that the Saudi government has not cooperated with their efforts to investigate the backgrounds of the hijackers who were Saudi citizens. The Saudis also have not been entirely helpful in investigators' efforts to track the trail of money and other assistance that sustained the Sept. 11 terrorists while they were in this country. The Saudis' reluctance is understandable. Osama bin Laden himself is the product of a wealthy and influential Saudi family, and the ties between the royal family and groups associated with terrorism were documented long before last week's revelation. For example, a suit filed by the families of hundreds of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks gives details of millions of dollars in payments from Prince Sultan, the Saudi defense minister, to four supposed charities linked to al-Qaida. The Saudi government is hardly the only nominally pro-American regime with deep ties to terrorists. While the White House hails Pakistan's military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, as a staunch ally in the war against terrorism, elements of the Pakistani government continue to protect members of al-Qaida, Afghanistan's deposed Taliban regime and other Islamic extremist groups. U.S. intelligence also has determined that Pakistan's crucial support for North Korea's nuclear weapons program has continued since President Bush included Pyongyang in his "axis of evil." Since Sept. 11, the president's rhetoric has tended to divide the world neatly into allies and evildoers, but reality is much more complicated than that. Iraq is an undemocratic state with troubling ties to terrorism -- but so are Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Iran and Syria are benefactors of Hezbollah and other Islamic terrorist groups -- but both governments have given the United States important covert help in some antiterrorist operations. The global war against terrorism will be long and costly, and it is important that our government help to protect the truth from becoming another casualty of that war. While the Bush administration has exaggerated the immediate threat posed by Iraq, it has downplayed friendlier governments' ties to terrorism. Our oil dependency should not shelter Saudi Arabia's royal family from honest scrutiny. The help Musharraf has provided us on one level cannot erase the deeper links to terrorism that pervade Pakistan's government. Several Republican and Democratic members of Congress are pressing for a full investigation of the money that went from the wife of Prince Bandar to the friends of two Sept. 11 hijackers. That investigation should be pursued, but it shouldn't end there. A much more complex and disturbing story -- one detailing the links between the Sept. 11 murderers and governments that supposedly are our allies in the war against terrorism -- still has not been fully told. ***************************************************************** 16 Greens vow to fight Eitam's plans for new Negev nuclear plant Back Home 21:01 27/11/2002 Last update - 08:22 28/11/2002 By Anat Georgi, Ha'aretz Correspondent Green groups are vowing to fight Infrastructure Minister Effi Eitam's plan, revealed Wednesday, to build a nuclear power station in the Negev, with one group, Life and Environment, saying "Eitam is turning his brief term in the ministry into a production line for national disasters." According to the Eitam plan, a nuclear reactor would be working at the Shifta site by 2020. The ministry says that at this stage the plan is focused on preserving the Shifta area as the site of the plant and getting the budget for the research and development necessary to advance the plans. The ministry says it would be the cheapest and cleanest way to produce electricity. Life and Environment attorney Or Karson said "the decision to build the plant would endanger our lives here," and he called the ministry's claims that it would provide the cheapest, cleanest form of energy "a terrible deception." MK Nehama Ronen (Center), a former director general of the Environment Ministry, said Eitam's only achievements since becoming minister of the Infrastructure Ministry "has been producing headlines, none of which was realistic." Instead of advancing "crazy ideas, like nuclear reactors, which are disappearing in the Western world, the minister should spend his time improving the existing infrastructure," said Ronen. She called on the planning authorities to oppose the proposal and prevent the construction of the reactor. © Copyright 2002 Ha`aretz. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 17 El Paso Electric cuts '02 earnings forecast* / Wed November 27, 2002 12:58 PM ET / EL PASO, Texas, Nov 27 (Reuters) - El Paso Electric Co. EE.A , an electric utility serving parts of Texas and New Mexico, on Wednesday revised its 2002 earnings estimate lower for the second time due to mild weather and higher costs. The El Paso-based company said it has cut its full-year earnings-per-share estimate to a range of 76 cents a share to 82 cents a share. El Paso Electric in June forecast 2002 earnings of 93 cents to $1.13 a share, and it cautioned in October that earnings were likely to come in at the low end of that range. The company -- which is not related to El Paso Corp. EP.N -- said mild weather in September and October reduced demand for electricity and resulted in lower-than-expected sales. It also said it expects to incur higher costs than expected for early retirement programs at its Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. El Paso Electric has also had its share of run-ins with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The FERC earlier this year launched an investigation of El Paso Electric, prompted by what it called "excessive joint dealings" the firm had with Enron Corp. ENRNQ.PK traders during the California power crisis of 2000 and 2001. Shares of El Paso Electric were off 47 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $10.21 in Wednesday afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Reuters The Company Products & Services ***************************************************************** 18 Why War With Iraq? Bush Owes Americans Some Clear Reasons The Salt Lake Tribune -- Utah's Statewide Newspaper Wednesday, November 27, 2002 CLARENCE PAGE Tribune Media Services WASHINGTON -- If you say something often enough, according to an old axiom of politics and human nature, people will begin to believe it -- whether you have evidence to back it up or not. So, too, goes the Bush administration as it tries to persuade the rest of us that its proposed war against Saddam Hussein has something -- anything! -- to do with the war against Osama bin Laden and al Qaida. That was the ostensible reason why, immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration's eyes turned to Baghdad. Prior to 9-11, Bush showed no more than passing interest in the Middle East, let alone Iraq. Then along came 9-11 and the notion was advanced that Saddam and Osama were linked, despite Osama's history of disgust for Saddam's secular state. Alas, the CIA later dismissed those reports. So the president next cited Saddam's ability to develop or to get his hands on nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Suddenly, in a radical departure from our history and tradition, the stripping of such capabilities from other nations had become the job of us, the United States, and us alone. Then, in his State of the Union Address, Bush was declaring Iraq, along with Iran and North Korea, to be part of an "Axis of Evil" that required continuing U.S. action. How did Saddam zoom to the top of our most-wanted list? The question is particularly intriguing in light of newly released testimony given last February before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence shortly after the president's address. The testimony quotes intelligence experts who, interestingly, make Iraq sound much less menacing than neighboring Iran. For example, Iran actively "supports terrorism . . . against Israel. It is vigorously pursuing "expanded WMD (weapons of mass destruction) and ballistic missile capabilities" and already "has some of the most advanced WMD and ballistic missile programs in the Middle East," the intelligence sources said. Saddam, by comparison, is portrayed as still trying to build and expand "an infrastructure capable of producing" nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Iraq has a "long history of supporting terrorists," to be sure, but nothing in the testimony suggests that Iraq has as many al Qaida terrorists on its soil as we have on American soil. Yet, our hawkish Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld began beating the drum against Iraq immediately after 9-11, repeatedly suggesting, according to Bob Woodward's new book, "Bush at War," "that they could take advantage of the opportunity offered by the terrorist attacks to go after Saddam immediately." But Woodward does not explain why Bush abruptly shifted in April to call for a "regime change" in Iraq and again in June to announcing preemptive strikes against any country believed to be a threat to the United States. After months of failures by the CIA and other intelligence agencies to come up with any evidence that it is willing to share with the public of a Saddam- al Qaida link, Rumsfeld in October created a new mini-intelligence unit in the Pentagon, headed by his notoriously pro-military-action Deputy Secy. Paul Wolfowitz, for the express purpose of finding such a link. In other words, if your intelligence agencies are not telling you what you want to hear, maybe a new unit of outside experts will. Only in autumn, Bush acquiesced to cooler dovish heads like Secretary of State Colin Powell in seeking the diplomatic path. Good move. If Saddam is such a big threat to world peace, why go after him alone? He has plenty of enemies around the world, especially in his own neighborhood. What direct threat does Saddam Hussein pose to the United States? The Bush administration says it knows but its reasons keep changing in what Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., back in October called the administration's "shifting justifications." Sensible as it is for a country to be secretive about how it is going to war, the Bush administration has been uncommonly un-candid about why it wants to take that route. Don't worry, they tell us. Trust us, they say. It won't take long, they say. I've heard all of that before. As an Army veteran who was drafted during the Vietnam War, I am particularly loathe to see my country send its armies into another war with the best of intentions but too little consideration for why we are going in and how we are going to leave. Despite our national and quite rational impulse to support our president in time of war and other national crises, the public has a right to know why it is going to war -- and we in the media have a big obligation to ask. © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on ***************************************************************** 19 Schroeder rejects some U.S. requests for help on Iraq Reuters AlertNet - 27 Nov 2002 13:10 BERLIN, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder responded coolly on Wednesday to a U.S. request for help in the event of an Iraq war, agreeing to grant flyover rights for U.S. forces but declining other demands from Washington. Schroeder said the United States had asked Germany to open its air space. It had also asked Berlin to provide defence systems against chemical, biological and nuclear attack as well as military police, missile defence systems and financial and material help for possible reconstruction. Schroeder, who angered the United States with his firm rejection of German involvement in an Iraq war during his re-election campaign, told reporters it remained "clear as glass" that Germany would stay out of a conflict, and that it continued to assume there would be no war. Germany would grant flyover and transit rights for troops from the United States and other NATO countries and would accede to a request from Israel for U.S.-built Patriot missiles, purely defensive systems designed to intercept and shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, Schroeder told a news conference. He also said Germany would agree to provide Israel with some of its Fuchs armoured vehicles, which are equipped to detect chemical, biological and nuclear contamination. The Israeli government made a request for vehicles two days ago, he said. But he ruled out military help going beyond that. "We do not intend to provide further resources beyond what I have said, and definitely no more personnel," Schroeder said. He ruled out any of the Fuchs vehicles stationed in Kuwait as part of Washington's declared war on terrorism could be used in any military action against Iraq. Asked if Germany would help rebuild Iraq after any war there, Schroeder said: "We expect that there will be no need for a military intervention and that is the German government's political goal, and I think it would be wrong to assume...the country will have to be rebuilt." The United States has asked 51 states for assistance in the event of a military strike on Iraq. Schroeder's coalition of Social Democrats and pacifist-leaning Greens has a slim majority of just four seats in the Bundestag lower house of parliament since September's election. Stationing German troops abroad requires parliamentary approval and Schroeder's government might face an embarrassing defeat if it took any decisions on troop movements that would involve a Bundestag vote. Reuters ***************************************************************** 20 US judge rejects mid-case appeal on Cheney papers* / Wed November 27, 2002 02:47 PM ET / By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney will have to turn over energy-policy documents within two weeks or explain why they should be withheld from watchdog and environmental groups, a U.S. judge ruled in an order released on Wednesday. In the latest legal twist between Cheney and watchdog groups that want to find out how he formed his oil-friendly energy policy, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled late on Tuesday that the vice president cannot appeal an order to turn over documents while the case is still being heard. Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch and the environmental group Sierra Club are seeking records of an energy task force headed by Cheney to find out what influence energy companies, including bankrupt Enron Corp. ENRNQ.PK , had on the policy it developed. The task force produced a policy paper in May 2001 that called for more oil and gas drilling and a revived nuclear power program. Environmentalists say they were largely shut out of the policy-making process. The legal challenge already has forced the Bush administration to produce thousands of documents from various government agencies that were involved in the task force to determine energy policy in the spring of 2001. But the administration refused to turn over documents relating to Cheney, who headed the task force, and three senior White House officials, prompting Judicial Watch to ask that Cheney be found in contempt of court. Sullivan ordered the administration in October to produce the documents or submit a detailed explanation of what ones they were withholding and why. The government appealed the order and sought the judge's approval to go ahead with the appeal even though the entire case has not been finished. Sullivan said he was not convinced. "Defendants have simply failed to establish the factual and legal predicates justifying interlocutory review," the judge wrote. White House officials will have to turn over the documents by Dec. 9, Judicial Watch said. Cheney also faces a lawsuit from the General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative agency. Arguments in that case were heard in September, but U.S. District Judge John Bates has not ruled. Reuters The Company Products & ***************************************************************** 21 Greenpeace joins nuclear plant protest* u.tv WEDNESDAY 27/11/2002 10:23:51 1 comment Greenpeace was today joining in a row over the possible building of a new nuclear power station. Its executive director Stephen Tindale was holding a news conference on board the Rainbow Warrior, the environmental group`s flagship vessel, when it docked in Hartlepool, the north east coastal town at the centre of the furore. The move came as a new survey showed strong opposition on Teesside to a new nuclear plant. Pollsters ICM found that 73% of people would rather that new jobs in the area came from manufacturing wind turbines for wind farms at sea, rather than building and running a new nuclear power station in the area. Local MP Peter Mandelson recently caused a stir by reportedly supporting any plans for a new reactor. Mr Tindale will be joined on the ship platform by Keith Fisher, the former chairman of Hartlepool Labour party who resigned in protest at Mr Mandelson`s comments. A government report last week revealed that wind power could generate eight times as much electricity in the UK as our nuclear reactors. Mr Tindale is also expected to announce that Greenpeace is commissioning a report into the economic and employment impact on the north east of a large scale offshore wind turbine development. A leading international energy expert will be asked to look at potential employment growth, both nationally and locally, that might follow if a target of generating 30% of electricity from wind is reached. Mr Tindale said today: ``The new poll clearly shows that local people are against a new nuclear plant in Hartlepool. ``It is absurd that anyone is even considering new nuclear capacity, especially when the north east is so rich in clean renewable energy sources like wind power. ``Developing wind power could bring thousands of new jobs to Hartlepool and the surrounding area.`` _Environment - Greenpeace international_ , you can watch a higher quality version. Copyright © 2002 UTV Internet and the UTV plc Group. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 22 NRC Approves Power Uprate for Indian Point 3 Nuclear Plant NRC: News Release - 2002-137 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov [opa@nrc.gov] www.nrc.gov No. 02-137 November 26, 2002 NRC APPROVES POWER UPRATE FOR INDIAN POINT 3 NUCLEAR PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request by Entergy Nuclear Operations to increase the generating capacity of the Indian Point 3 nuclear power plant by 1.4 percent. The power uprate at the plant, located in Buchanan, New York, will increase the generating capacity of Unit 3 from 1027 megawatts electric to 1041. The licensee intends to implement the power uprate in mid-December. NRC published a notice about the power uprate application in the Federal Register providing the public an opportunity to comment or request a hearing. No comments or hearing requests were received by the NRC. The NRC's safety evaluation of the requested power uprate for the plant focused on several areas, including nuclear steam supply systems, instrumentation and control systems, electrical systems, accident evaluations, radiological consequences, operations, and other technical specification changes. The NRC staff determined that the licensee could safely increase the power output of the reactor primarily through increased feedwater flow measurement accuracy. Wednesday, November 27, 2002 ***************************************************************** 23 SA OP: Koeberg nuclear plant 'important' [http://www.businessday.co.za Koeberg nuclear power station is of critical importance to the people of the Western Cape, supplying almost 60% of the province's energy requirements, provincial premier Marthinus van Schalkwyk said today. "As the provincial government, we are determined to ensure that the electricity supply from Koeberg is affordable and sustainable, but most importantly that it poses no safety risk to the people of our province," he said after a visit to the electricity utility Electricite de France (EDF). Van Schalkwyk is visiting France as part of a week-long trade, tourism and investment drive. He is also scheduled to visit Holland and Italy. He returns home on Saturday. "The commitment to ensuring the highest international safety measures are in place at Koeberg, is why we have made a site visit to EDF a priority during our visit to Europe," he said. Meetings held with top EDF managers provided "a valuable opportunity to discuss ways in which the Western Cape can learn more from France's experience in developing and producing safe nuclear energy". Nuclear power in France - produced by 59 reactors built over the past 15 years - provides about three quarters of the country's electricity needs. Many of the plants are located in densely populated areas. Van Schalkwyk referred to the problem of high-level nuclear waste, currently stored in containment vessels at the Koeberg site, about 40km north of Cape Town. It is understood there are about three tons of such waste at the site; medium and low-level waste is sent to the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa-managed site at Vaalputs, about 100km south-east of Springbok in the Northern Cape. Van Schalkwyk said EDF had proved an invaluable source of information, knowledge and expertise. Sapa BDFM Publishers 2002 ***************************************************************** 24 AU: Lucas Heights seeks a name - smh.com.au By Richard Macey November 28 2002 What's in a name? ... The nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights. Photo: Edwina Pickles Some of the neighbours say it will be our doom - a radioactive white elephant only good as a target for suicide terrorists piloting jumbo jets. The owners insist it will bring Australian science into the 21st century, producing the medicine and technology needed to make our lives worth living. But what should it be called? A campaign to find a name for what may be Australia's most controversial project, the new $320 million nuclear research reactor being built at Lucas Heights, was launched yesterday. Helen Garnett, the executive director of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which runs Lucas Heights, said she wanted high school students across the country to name the new centre, now tagged the Replacement Research Reactor. The entry that best reflected what the new reactor is about would win a prize valued at $10,000, while their school would win a $10,000 flat-screen TV. Stunned opponents of the project almost choked on the news, accusing the nuclear organisation of mounting a propaganda campaign to brainwash children. Sutherland Council's Genevieve Rankin said there were 15 schools with 9000 children within five kilometres of the reactor. "They have no real emergency procedure in case of an accident," she said, adding that the competition money would be better spent on an awareness campaign to tell teachers and students what to do if there was a nuclear disaster. Cr Rankin dismissed the competition as "just a way of silencing teachers and getting them over to their side". She complained that Sutherland Council had spent more than $10,000 on Freedom of Information applications to get details about the new reactor released. "We still have some requests outstanding," she said. The nuclear campaigner at Greenpeace, James Courtney, dismissed the competition as "a desperate public relations stunt" designed to get the "pro-nuclear spin into our high schools". Professor Garnett said students were entitled to name the new reactor, to be finished in 2005, because their generation would benefit from its work. Entries close in March. Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 25 Israel plans construction of nuclear power plant The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition Nov. 27, 2002 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Israel has started planning construction of a new nuclear reactor, an Israeli official said Wednesday. The nuclear plant, for generating electric power, is to be built in the Negev Desert, a mostly empty stretch of land in Israel's south, said Avi Lerner, spokesman for the Infrastructure Ministry. Nearby, next to the city of Dimona, is an existing nuclear reactor, officially slated for civilian research. However, in 1986, a former technician at the plant, Mordechai Vanunu, gave pictures of what appeared to be nuclear weapons at the plant to a London newspaper. Vanunu is serving an 18-year prison sentence for treason and espionage. Lerner said the new reactor, to be completed by 2020, would be for civilian purposes. He would not relate to questions about nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to have a stockpile of nuclear weapons, but the government's public policy is purposely vague, stating only that Israel will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East. Israel has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, aimed at stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, because it objects to international inspection of the Dimona plant. Lerner said the first step toward building a new reactor will be a study of the financial and safety aspects of the project. If the results are favorable, construction on the facility would begin in 2010. The Yediot Ahronot daily said the reactor would cost US$2 billion to build. Israel Radio quoted Infrastructure Minister Effie Eitam as saying the new reactor could provide Israel with clean electric power, but predicted opposition from local environmental groups. © 1995-2002, The Jerusalem Post ***************************************************************** 26 January restart of Davis-Besse now unlikely » The Plain Dealer 11/27/02 Stephen Koff Plain Dealer Bureau Chief Washington - The Davis-Besse nuclear power plant's shutdown is likely to stretch into February if not later, according to comments made at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission yesterday. Despite recent FirstEnergy Corp. statements that the plant - idled since mid-February - could be running by January, executives of the Akron company told the NRC yesterday that they will not conduct a crucial test for leaks until late January or early February. If the test shows that more repairs are necessary, the restart would have to wait. "If you find a new leaking penetration, to me that opens up a whole new can of worms," Brian Sheron, the NRC's associate director for licensing and technical analysis, said at a meeting to discuss plans for the latest test. The NRC will not grant permission to restart the troubled plant until the test is complete. "We're going to need to hear all the results of the test before we can determine whether the test was successful, and this is a key element in their being able to restart the plant," said Anthony Mendiola, a section chief in the NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. "Clearly it's another hoop they have to jump through." The test is to determine whether there are leaks in any of the 52 tubes that carry instruments up through the base and into the reactor core. Rust stains found at the bottom of the reactor's container, known as the reactor vessel, indicate that one or more tubes might have been leaking. But the stains might also merely be residue left by the problems found at the top of the vessel last winter and now being fixed, FirstEnergy officials say. Nickel-alloy nozzles at the top had leaked highly corrosive boric acid for years, and the problem went undetected while the corrosion ate a hole through the vessel's 6½-inch-thick lid. The nozzles guide the fuel rods for the nuclear reaction. Workers found the hole in March, several weeks after the plant shut down for a mandatory inspection. Davis-Besse is installing a new lid. To find out if any tubes at the bottom are leaking, FirstEnergy plans to bring the reactor up to its normal operating temperature and pressure. Although its uranium fuel will be reloaded for the test, no nuclear reaction will occur because the reactor's control rods will stay inserted in the core. The reactor's coolant-circulating pumps and the natural decay of its radioactive fuel will generate the heat and pressure. After the test, the company will inspect the tubes and vessel bottom. It also wants to monitor the tubes with a camera during the test. "Our intention is to get a camera down there" so workers can see any leakage, Bob Schrauder, the company's director of support services, told the NRC. But Schrauder told the regulators a moment later, "We haven't worked out the details. We don't even know if there is going to be a camera available." If leaks were found in a single tube, repairs would take about a week, said Jon Hopkins, an NRC senior project manager. But FirstEnergy first would need NRC permission to make the repairs, a process that could take several weeks, he added. Leaks at the bottom could also trigger more dramatic calls for action by the NRC for the entire industry to check reactor bottoms. The NRC has already demanded renewed vigilance as a result of Davis-Besse's damaged lid. FirstEnergy, which last year fought successfully to keep Davis-Besse operating when the NRC wanted it shut down for inspections, gave assurances yesterday that it will resolve the leak issue. "It's obvious from the discussion here that we're going to as great a length as we can to make sure that we don't have any leakage here. . . . That's the bottom line," said Gary Leidich, executive vice president of FirstEnergy's nuclear operating division. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: skoff@5plaind.com, 216-999-4212 © 2002 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. ***************************************************************** 27 Tupelo may invest $1 million in TVA nuclear plan [http://www.djournal.com] 11/27/02 Money would support TVA's planned restart of reactor at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant. BY PHILIP MOULDEN Daily Journal Tupelo may invest $1 million in a fund to support the Tennessee Valley Authority's planned restart of the Unit 1 reactor at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant outside Athens, Ala. The eight-state electric power agency is enlisting its distributors in a financing plan for the $1.6 billion project that could provide a significant boost in the effective interest rate the city is getting on Water and Light Department reserve funds, Tupelo City Council members were told in a work session this week. Under current TVA borrowing rates, the city could expect a return of about 5.5 percent interest over a 10-year loan period or 6.15 percent over 20 years, officials said. The department's reserve funds are currently drawing 3.18 percent, city Chief Financial Officer Daphne Holcombe told the council. In the past decade its rate has ranged from a high of 4.16 percent to a low of 2.48 percent, she said. The rate is expected to fall further when the city renews depository arrangements next year, she added. Holcombe and Water and Light Department manager Johnny Timmons told the council the department could safely free $1 million in reserves for the project. "I think it's reasonable," Mayor Larry Otis said of the TVA proposal. Otis added that while making a good investment, Tupelo as the TVA's "first city" also would be showing support for the agency. TVA in effect would sell "discounted energy units" to distributors that would be claimed over the investment period. The units amount to a savings of 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour for a specified amount of power based on the size of the investment. Under current rates and a $1 million investment, Tupelo would see a savings of $10,875 a month on its TVA power bill, officials said. That would amount to about $1.3 million over the 10-year period. But if that savings were reinvested at 3 percent interest when realized, the total return would come to about $1.52 million over a decade. Conversely, a straight investment of $1 million in a certificate of deposit or other instrument returning 3 percent would produce only $1.35 million over the period, the council was told. The city's investment with TVA also could be counted as part of a $3.1 million reserve that the agency already requires the city to maintain, Timmons said. Browns Ferry Unit 1 has been mothballed since 1985. The restart project is expected to be completed in 2007. A TVA spokesman said the discounted energy unit program may be offered to distributors through 2007. Copyright © 2000, djournal.com. All Rights Reserved. No ***************************************************************** 28 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Nuclear reactors still have problems ----------------------------------------------------------------- Las Vegas SUN ----------------------------------------------------------------- November 27, 2002 Editorial: Nuclear reactors still have problems LAS VEGAS SUN Shortly after the 1979 meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, the nuclear power industry created the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. This internal oversight group shares knowledge among nuclear power experts in an effort to prevent future accidents. Typically the group's reports are kept confidential, but last week that confidentiality was breached -- thank goodness. The New York Times revealed that a confidential report by the oversight group, issued on Nov. 11, had warned utilities that too much emphasis on production -- and "a lack of sensitivity to nuclear safety" -- had endangered an Ohio reactor and could signal a similar mind-set at plants elsewhere in the nation. Extensive corrosion at the Davis-Besse reactor near Toledo, Ohio, went undetected at the reactor until March of this year, a failure that led to 70 pounds of steel being eaten away and left the reactor vessel vulnerable to rupturing. Not only should the industry act upon this internal report, but Congress also should hold hearings to investigate what steps utilities are taking to ensure that they're operating safely. It also is troubling that this is the same industry that is lobbying Congress to pass legislation that would make taxpayers liable for cleanup if a catastrophic accident caused more than $10 billion in damage at a nuclear power plant. There was no reason before to give the nuclear power industry government-subsidized insurance, and this latest report shows yet again why such a guarantee is exactly the wrong message to send to nuclear power operators, one that won't encourage an emphasis on safety over profits. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Las Vegas SUN main page ----------------------------------------------------------------- Questions or problems? Click here. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 29 Yankee sale foes lose round The Times Argus Online - November 27, 2002 By SUSAN SMALLHEER Southern Vermont Bureau BRATTLEBORO — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has rejected two anti-nuclear groups’ arguments that the last-minute changes to the $180 million sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant this summer should be voided. In a ruling released Tuesday, the federal agency said the portion of the deal with Entergy Nuclear over the division of the plant’s $300 million decommissioning fund passed federal muster and was actually a matter for state regulators. The New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution of Brattleboro and the Citizens Awareness Network of Shelburne Falls, Mass., had challenged the sale last summer, immediately after the transfer to Entergy Nuclear was completed. James Dumont, the attorney for the anti-nuclear group, said he was disappointed with the ruling, and he said it flew in the face of a federal rule that in his interpretation specifically prohibited sharing excess decommissioning funds between utilities and ratepayers. “They didn’t address the basic issues that, in their rule-making, FERC said all surplus funds should be returned to ratepayers,” Dumont said. “It was a long shot,” he said of the appeal. FERC, which sets wholesale power rates for nuclear reactors such as Yankee, and which had already approved the sale to Entergy, disagreed with the arguments from the anti-nuclear groups, as well as Public Citizen, the Ralph Nader organization, and two public interest research groups in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. “The July 22, 2002, agreements are consistent with our regulations and that the propriety of these agreements falls under the jurisdictions of the affected state commissions,” the FERC ruling stated. “The disposition of those excess decommissioning funds after the wholesale customers receive them is a matter subject to the jurisdiction of the affected retail jurisdictions,” the ruling stated. It noted that in its earlier approval of the sale, that under the purchase power agreement that was an integral part of the Entergy sale, “ratepayers would be protected from any increases in decommissioning costs.” “Although we did not address the disposition of excess decommissioning funds, we determined that under the purchase power agreements, there were reduced risks for the wholesale customers with respect to decommissioning expenses that were specifically designed to protect ratepayers from any increases in decommissioning costs,” it concluded. “As we have said, the sale was found by public regulators to promote the public good, by essentially reducing costs for the next 10 years for state ratepayers,” Robert O. Williams, Yankee spokesman, said. “Our supporting agreement on excess decommissioning sharing was a key part of the sale, and it was consistent with the PSB order and we’re pleased that FERC has confirmed that,” he said. Under a last-minute change to the Vermont Yankee sale, the out-of-state utility owners agreed to sign over their share of the excess decommissioning funds, in exchange for a $1.5 million payment that came from the shareholders of Central Vermont Public Service Corp. and Green Mountain Power. The Vermont Public Service Board had added a condition to its approval of the sale that up to the last minute threatened to detail it — that any excess funds in the decommissioning trust fund for the nuclear reactor be returned to Vermont ratepayers who paid for it — rather than to Entergy. Entergy said that condition was a deal-breaker, even though the actual amount of the excess funds was unknown, although one state expert who testified about the sale put the number as high as $100 million. The decommissioning trust fund will eventually be used to dismantle Vermont Yankee when its federal license expires, and return the former Vernon dairy farm to a “green field.” Until the sale, Vermont consumers had contributed more than half of the $300 million currently in the fund, since only about half of Yankee’s output is sold to Vermont utilities. Under terms of the sale to Entergy, Vermont consumers’ direct contribution has been capped at that number. Sarah Hofmann, an attorney with the Department of Public Service, which had filed for intervenor status in the FERC appeal, said she had just received the decision and hadn’t had time to study it. The state hadn’t filed for formal standing in the case, only for informational purposes, she said. Tuesday’s news from Washington isn’t the last word on the sale of Vermont Yankee — the New England Coalition has filed a challenge to the sale in the Vermont Supreme Court as well. Dumont said he was putting the finishing touches on his brief for that appeal, which is due at the state’s highest court next week. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. Times Argus [http://www.timesargus.com/] . ***************************************************************** 30 Ameren's Callaway nuclear plant back in service - 2002-11-26 - St. Louis Business Journal AmerenUE's Callaway Nuclear Plant in Fulton, Mo., has returned to service after a month-long refueling and maintenance. During the shutdown, operators replaced 96 of 193 fuel assemblies in the reactor core and performed various maintenance activities, inspection and tests. The next scheduled refueling of the plant, which provides about 25 percent of all the electricity to AmerenUE customers, is in the spring of 2004. Ameren said in its third-quarter earnings report that it expected its operations and maintenance expenses to rise because of the refueling outage, which is expected to reduce fourth quarter earnings by about 9 cents per share compared to last year. St. Louis-based Ameren Corp. (NYSE: AEE) provides electricity and natural gas in eastern Missouri and Illinois. © 2002 American City Business Journals Inc. ***************************************************************** 31 Japan: NUCLEAR FREEZE/Cold war (TEPCO Scandal) asahi.com : ENGLISH Asahi Shimbun www.asahi.com [http://www.asahi.com/] The Asahi Shimbun TEPCO wants to restart its reactors to meet Tokyo's winter demand, but residents are vehemently opposed. ---``We won't connect the issue of electricity demand in the Tokyo area and the safety of nuclear power generation.'' MASAO UCHIBORI Fukushima Prefecture's social affairs director--- The cover-up scandals embroiling Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) have raised fears of power shortages during the frigid winter months in the nation's capital. The power company was forced to suspend operations at nine of its 17 nuclear plants after the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency was told that TEPCO repeatedly ignored flaws at its nuclear power plants and submitted false reports about their safety. Four other reactors will be shut down for regular inspection by early February, when electricity demand peaks. ``We will face difficulties if the 13 reactors suspend operations at the same time,'' said a TEPCO official. To stave off a potential crisis, TEPCO plans to buy extra fuel from rival companies and the Middle East. The utility is also considering restarting its thermal power generators and might ask customers to conserve electricity. Moreover, TEPCO seeks an early resumption of its nuclear reactor operations after submitting a final report on its in-house investigation by early December. ``The only way to resume operations is to try to regain local citizens' faith by letting the truth come out,'' said Tsunehisa Katsumata, TEPCO's president. That's easier said than done. The company has at least a 10-year history of lying. Cracks on shrouds surrounding the reactor cores went unreported. Safety checks on key components were faked. And insiders revealed that the cover-ups were conducted mainly to prevent the company from losing money during shutdowns for repairs. Nobuya Minami resigned as president and other senior executives stepped down, but the anger of residents living near the reactors has not subsided. ``We won't connect the issue of electricity demand in the Tokyo area and the safety of nuclear power generation,'' said Masao Uchibori, director of the social affairs department in Fukushima Prefecture, home to two TEPCO nuclear plants. ``This is not the time to argue about resumption,'' Uchibori said. The 13 reactors normally generate 13 million kilowatts of electicity, accounting for about 25 percent of total electricity demand of 51 million kilowatts during a regular winter season. The company fears a shortfall in power if the 13 reactors are suspended at the same time. To fill the gap, TEPCO is ready to restart four of six suspended petroleum thermal power plants in Yokosuka. Since February 2001, the company has gradually suspended operations at the six now-obsolete generators because they cost more to operate than the newer models. The oldest thermal generator in Yokosuka started operation in 1960. The company also plans to buy 2.5 million kiloliters of oil in addition to an earlier planned purchase of 3 million kiloliters. TEPCO also intends to buy 120,000 tons of liquid natural gas (LNG) from Oman and secure several hundred thousand tons of LNG from Tokyo Gas Co., Kansai Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co. The additional supplies should secure 53 million kilowatts of energy, sufficient for a normal winter season. But if the mercury dips by 1 degree below average this winter, TEPCO estimates the Tokyo area will need an additional 600,000 kilowatts of energy. The company is considering buying electricity from Kansai Electric and moving up operations at three thermal power generators in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture by up to one year and seven months. TEPCO will begin a test run in February. TEPCO also might ask its big customers to reduce energy use at plants, but will offer discounts. The central government is also considering energy-conservation steps if a cold snap hits the Tokyo area. When trying to weather the oil shock of 1974, the government took strong measures to save electricity, such as ordering businesses to turn off their neon advertisements. But TEPCO seems intent on trying to restart its nuclear reactors, and it appears to have the backing of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. The agency submitted to the Diet an amendment to the Electricity Utilities Industry Law that would allow damaged nuclear reactors to continue operations if their safety is confirmed. But restarting TEPCO's reactors would spark an inevitable backlash. ``Even if the government stresses its safety, we can't easily accept it,'' said Katsuya Endo, mayor of Tomioka in Fukushima Prefecture. The Fukushima No. 2 plant is located in the town. An anti-nuclear citizens group in Niigata Prefecture said the company can expect protests if it restarts its reactors. ``If TEPCO tries to resume its operations only from a supply-and-demand viewpoint, it will definitely face harsh criticism from local residents,'' said Kazuyuki Takemoto, a member of the citizens group in Kariwa village, where the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant is located.(IHT/Asahi: November 27,2002) (11/27) [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction ***************************************************************** 32 TEPCO tried to rush nuke reactor checks asahi.com : ENGLISH Asahi Shimbun [http://www.asahi.com/] JAPANESE TEPCO was so anxious to hasten inspections of its nuclear power plants that it paid 3.7 billion yen to firms subcontracted by the utility to ensure it received a clean bill of health. Revelations about the periodic inspections since April 1997 surfaced Wednesday during testimony given in the Lower House's Committee on Economy, Trade and Industry by Masayoshi Yoshino, a Lower House member with the Liberal Democratic Party. Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma suggested TEPCO's haste could have laid the foundation for the cover-up and false reports of cracks at nuclear power plants. Officials of the ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency plan to question Tokyo Electric Power Co. to ascertain whether the company sacrificed safety for the sake of efficiency. Electric power companies are required by law to conduct periodic inspections about once a year. Nuclear reactors are shut down and checked for damage. Experts have estimated that shutting down a 1 million-kilowatt reactor for a day costs an electric power firm about 100 million yen. For that reason, power firms have been trying to reduce the time it takes to complete an inspection. Currently, a comparatively quick inspection takes about a month. Internal regulations at TEPCO set the standard period for inspections at between 50 and 65 days. Since April 1997, TEPCO has been paying money to subcontractors based on the number of days that can be saved in the 28 periodic inspections that have been conducted.(IHT/Asahi: November 28,2002) [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction ***************************************************************** 33 Israel plans to build second nuclear reactor Al-Bawaba's *Contact News Editor* 27-11-2002, 19:39 Israel has started planning construction of a new nuclear reactor, an Israeli official said Wednesday. The nuclear plant, "for generating electric power," is to be built in southern Israel, said Avi Lerner, spokesman for the Infrastructure Ministry. Nearby, next to the city of Dimona, is an existing nuclear reactor. Lerner said the new reactor, to be completed by 2020, would be for "civilian purposes." Israel has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, aimed at stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, because it objects to international inspection of the Dimona plant. Lerner said the first step toward building a new reactor will be a study of the financial and safety aspects of the project. If the results are favorable, construction on the facility would commence in 2010. /Yediot Ahronot/ daily said the reactor would cost US$2 billion to build. Infrastructure Minister Effi Eitam confirmed the report, saying, “Building a nuclear power plant will significantly upgrade Israel’s ability to guarantee an independent supply of electric power.” (Albawaba.com) 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com) * ***************************************************************** 34 Pro Main Yankee: Taxes Up 27% Next Year? [http://WiscassetNewspaper.Maine.Com/2002-11-28/browse.html] [The Wiscasset Newspaper - Online Edition] Nov 28, 2002 "Serving Alna, Dresden, Edgecomb, Westport, Wiscasset and Woolwich" Vol. 33-No. 29 Paula Gibbs Once rich Wiscasset is now facing double digit tax increases in the next few years -- unless drastic changes in spending are made or new sources of revenue are found. Town manager David Kinney made a presentation on the state of the town's finances last Thursday night, inviting selectmen, budget and school committee members, and residents. The town that once had over 90 percent of its yearly taxes paid by one company, Maine Yankee, could see taxes increase by 27 percent -- to 24 mills next year. The nuclear power plant closed in 1997 and taxes have decreased to the point where this year the company is paying $1 million. The town's dim financial outlook could change if the town decides to start spending the $14 million in reserve funds. So far, selectmen have used just the interest generated by the funds to keep taxes down. Even if Maine Yankee gives the town an extra $300,000 like it did this year -- and spending stays the same --taxpayers next year could see the mill rate go to 24, a 27% increase over this year. Without the Maine Yankee "excess payment," the increase would be 34%, or a mill rate of 26.2 The town used $2.7 million this year to keep the mill rate under 20. It is projected that there will be only $1.9 million next year from the same sources (excise taxes, reserve fund interest, Maine Yankee excess payment and transfers) to keep taxes down. The stock market decline has affected the town's reserve fund earnings. While this year's interest was $910,000, next year's is predicted to drop to about $850,000 With state officials trying to figure out how they will deal with a projected shortfall in revenue in the next two years, it is likely the town's revenue sharing dollars, which declined by over $35,000 this year, will continue to decline. Budget committee member Duane Goud commented that the outlook in upcoming years "will be worse." "The picture doesn't get any rosier as we move on," Kinney admitted. "It's realistic to say we're going to be at 32 mills in a few years," said Goud. "Looking at other towns our size, there are not many paying 32 mills with $14 million in the bank," a reference to the possibility of starting to use the principal instead of just the interest. "If we go to 26 mills, we'll be the highest taxed town in Lincoln County," said Karl Tarbox. Taxing Dry Cask Storage? Budget Committee member Dick Grondin asked, "When do we start to see the benefits from dry cask storage?" Grondin was referring to the spent nuclear fuel that is in the process of being put into cement and steel casks at the Maine Yankee site. It will be stored there until the federal government gets a storage facility ready. Kinney said there wasn't a lot he could say about this because the town is currently in negotiations with the company on taxes. The current tax agreement runs out this year. "Do we have any information from other states where closed plants have dry cask storage?" Grondin asked. "Some," answered Kinney. "This is something we should pursue vigorously," Grondin said. David Nichols said the state of Michigan "taxed the living Hell" out of a plant in that state, but they had to take them to court in order to do it. "Who knows what that stuff is worth," Nichols said. "I'm making a note of this," Kinney said. "I'm not ignoring you. State law requires us to assess the property at just value. The question comes down to what the assessor says the property is worth. What is the value of a decommissioned nuclear power plant? How is that established?" Kinney said Wiscasset must be careful not to get into a situation like Bath did, when it was determined the city was over-taxing Bath Iron Works, and was forced to return some of the money. Bill Phinney tacked up on the wall a huge enlargement of the selectmen's March 28, 2000 minutes to illustrate a petition he presented at that time. The petition had 455 signatures, 400 being registered Wiscasset voters. The petition asked that if removal of the nuclear waste "is not physically possible... we ask that Maine Yankees' opportunity to have the nuclear waste remain on an interim basis be a direct negotiated revenue source to the town of Wiscasset." Selectman Chuck Applebee said, "This falls into the same category as what David [Nichols] suggested. The board of selectmen can look into this." "Our town ordinance is black and white on this -- we're not allowed to have a dump site there," Phinney said. "I think the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the federal government can override anything the town of Wiscasset has to say about it," Kinney said. "I can assure you, we are doing all we possibly can to maximize our revenue from Maine Yankee," Kinney said. Economic Development Kinney said there's no question the town needs more economic development. Steve Jarrett, chairman of the board of selectmen and a former planning board member, said, "You've got to look at your ordinances. We've got an economic development group that wants to work with Maine Yankee." "Nothing's going to happen at Maine Yankee until you get rid of that spent fuel," Nichols said. Phinney asked what increases in revenue have resulted from economic development in the last few years. "Pretty close to zero," answered Applebee. "That's what I understand," said Phinney. "I would like to have hundreds of thousands of dollars coming into Wiscasset," Kinney said. "When I raise a question on economic development, the answer is we can't talk about it," Phinney said. The selectmen had planned to have a workshop after their Tuesday night meeting on Stafford Business Advisors' economic development efforts (early press deadlines prohibited coverage of this meeting). Selectman Mike Blagdon called for the installation of high speed cable, as one of the factors new businesses are looking for. "If we don't have some [business development] success in the next two or three years, what are our taxes going to be?" asked Blagdon. "How many people will be leaving town? "I'd also like to know what we're doing to help existing businesses." Town Ordinances Tarbox asked if there are "specific, business-friendly ordinances" that will be on the March ballot. "Not that I'm aware of," Kinney answered. "Will this be a priority?" Tarbox asked. "It could well be," Kinney said. "I believe that was one of the items in Stafford's business plan," said Applebee. Former selectman Judy Flanagan asked if it is fair to blame Stafford. "We've been going through some uneasy times," she said. "There's no doubt Wiscasset is in a state of flux," Kinney said. "No one individual deserves all the blame for where we are. We can all point fingers, but we all have to work to get out of this." Asked about the status of the town's comprehensive plan, Kinney said the committee is "half formed." "We're looking for somebody to coordinate that work. Six months ago I thought I could help the committee get it done, but it looks like we need to bring someone on board to help us," he said. Suggestions "I think it's time we had a comprehensive salary study," said Grondin. "Are we paying fairly, or are we over paying? Or under paying? You don't always have to cut services, but maybe there's a better, more efficient way to get services." Applebee said such salary surveys exist and area available to selectmen. "I think there should be an anonymous suggestion box," said Tarbox. "I get 100 phone calls a week from people with good ideas, but they don't dare to say them in public." Tarbox said people call him because, "they know I'm dumb enough to," he said, bringing chuckles from those in the room. Referring to the suggestion box, Kinney said, "I didn't budget for one. I may have to make one out of a shoe box," he said, prompting more laughter. Referring to other ideas people might have, Kinney said, "If you think of an idea on your way home, call me tomorrow. Unless it's a big idea -- then call me tonight," he said. Wiscasset Newspaper P.O. Box 429, Wiscasset, ME 04578 Tel: 207.882.6355 MaineStreet [http://WWW.MaineStreet.Com/publishing/] http://wiscassetnewspaper.maine.com/2002-11-28/taxes_up.html rev 2002-11-27 ***************************************************************** 35 Operator makes plans to test damaged Ohio nuclear plant* RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Associated Press 11/27/2002 08:05 am The operator of a nuclear plant damaged by an acid leak wants to begin tests by February to determine when the plant can begin supplying power again. FirstEnergy Corp. told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday that it will conduct tests for leaks in late January or early February. If tests show that more repairs are necessary, the restart of the Davis-Besse plant would have to wait. Initially, the company had hoped to restart plant by the end of this year and then pushed that back to January. "We don't believe that we have leakage, but we've got to be sure,"said Gary Leidich, executive vice president of FirstEnergy Nuclear Corp. The plant along Lake Erie, near Toledo, has been shut down since February. The NRC began investigating after leaks allowed boric acid to eat a hole almost through the 6-inch thick steel cap that covers the plant's reactor vessel. The leaks were discovered in March, during a maintenance shutdown. It was the most extensive corrosion ever at a U.S. nuclear reactor and led to a nationwide review of all 69 similar plants. A second, smaller hole was found later at Davis-Besse, which is near Toledo. Concerns have come up recently about possible leaks in nozzles and corrosion near the bottom of the plant's reactor vessel. Davis-Besse operators think the corrosion was caused by residue coming from the original leak and not by new leaks. "If you find a new leaking penetration, to me that opens up a whole new can of worms,"said Brian Sheron, the NRC's associate director for licensing and technical analysis. Leaks could lead to a dangerous loss of the cooling water that prevents the reactor from a meltdown. Bob Schrauder, director of support services at Davis-Besse, said attempts to resolve concern about the nozzles have produced inconclusive results. FirstEnergy's only option is to heat and pressurize the reactor vessel to mirror conditions during routine operation, he said. Technicians will use cameras to inspect the nozzles for leaks. The plant would be at normal operating conditions for seven days during the test. NRC officials said the testing plan had no unusual risks. "This is a key element in their being able to restart the plant,"said Anthony Mendiola, an official in the NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. FirstEnergy is paying about $200 million to repair the plant, install a new lid and buy replacement power until Davis-Besse is restarted. A new reactor should be installed by early December. On the Net: Nuclear Regulatory Commission: www.nrc.gov FirstEnergy Corp.:http://www.firstenergycorp.com © Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal , a Gannett Co. Inc. ***************************************************************** 36 Wales: Deadly cargos could come to small airfields Shropshire Star - News [Shropshirestar.com] Updated: November 27, 2002 11:58 Shropshire and Mid Wales could be the ideal rural bases for terrorists to smuggle materials into the country to mount a deadly nuclear or biological attack, it was claimed today. Lord Alex Carlile QC, of Berriew, near Welshpool, said terrorists could bypass tight security at major airports and ports and smuggle materials into Britain through one of the country's network of small airfields and sea ports. Lord Carlile, the former Mid Wales Liberal Democrat MP who hit the headlines as the barrister for Princess Diana's butler Paul Burrell, spoke out after he was appointed by the Government to oversee the workings of the Terrorism 2000 Act. In his first annual report yesterday Lord Carlile described the network of minor ports and land strips as the country's "soft underbelly of ports policing". Shropshire and Mid Wales is host to three small airports - Sleap, Welshpool and Halfpenny Green - which could, according to Lord Carlile, be used as a back door into the country by terrorists. Paul Harris of Welshpool, who heads the campaign against light aircraft noise, said today that he thought the threat was very real with Welshpool Airport suffering similar problems in the past. "There's a chance anything could happen. Anyone can fly in or out of small private airports," he said. Lord Carlile warned "The risk of lethal material entering the UK on a light aircraft landing at a busy general aviation airport or a remote rural airstrip is real". [Copyright Shropshire Newspapers, 2002] ***************************************************************** 37 Striking Belgians spark panic with nuclear sirens. 27/11/2002. ABC News Online "Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online"> [http://abc.net.au/] Residents across Belgium inundated the emergency services with telephone calls today, after striking civil protection workers set off nuclear sirens. The nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) sirens sparked widespread alarm, including around nuclear power plants, prompting the authorities to issue messages through the media to reassure residents. The Interior Ministry has opened an investigation into the incident and wants those responsible prosecuted. "I can tell you that Minister Antoine Duquesne has firmly decided to pursue sanctions after this lunacy," civil protection director general Christine Breyne said. The workers had set off the NBC alarms from their regional base at Gand in western Belgium as well as at nuclear power plants at Doel and Tihange, creating a flood of calls to the emergency services. Employees of the 700-strong civil protection department are on strike for better pay. © 2002 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 38 eWorkshop derided as pro-Yucca 'love-in' reviewjournal.com -- News: Wednesday, November 27, 2002 Panel asked to make time to hear from critics of nuclear waste project By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- A technical board that advises the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the Yucca Mountain Project heard only part of the story at a workshop it held last week on nuclear waste transportation, Nevada officials complained Tuesday. During a three-day session convened by the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste on Nov. 19-21, industry representatives and staff members from the NRC and the Department of Energy gave presentations on nuclear waste shipping cask testing and nuclear transportation safety research. Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, described the meetings as a pro-Yucca "love-in," based on a report he received from a state consultant who attended the sessions at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md. In a letter sent Tuesday to the committee's leader, Loux complained the advisory panel and others at the meetings "were treated to a very one-sided and potentially skewed perspective on a matter that is of great importance." Loux proposed Nevada be given a day before the advisory committee for experts "not employed by the DOE or the nuclear industry" to present a competing view of cask safety and testing, transportation safety, security and risks. Although government and industry officials maintain that nuclear waste can be shipped securely to a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, state leaders and consultants say there are potential safety gaps that raise questions about the project. "The type of meeting ACNW held on Nov. 19th-21st can only fuel public skepticism and distrust about the government's role in assuring the safety of such shipments," Loux wrote to George Hornberger, a University of Virginia environmental science professor who heads the advisory committee. Public Citizen, a government watchdog group that opposes the Yucca project, filed a similar complaint with the technical board on Monday. "We are deeply concerned that the committee intends to draw conclusions about nuclear waste transportation having heard only from representatives of federal agencies and the nuclear industry," said Lisa Gue, a senior energy analyst who attended the workshop. Loux said state officials did not press for time when the committee's agenda was announced. "We were not invited and then the whole agenda was really full," he said. "We thought we would wait and request our own." The five members of the nuclear waste advisory committee are scheduled to appear before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on December 18 to give their views on the Yucca program. Loux asked Hornberger to schedule a Nevada session before then. John Larkins, the advisory committee's executive director, said there was no thought to excluding the Nevadans or other critics of the nuclear waste program. He noted the committee has met in Las Vegas and plans to do so again to seek the views of the state and affected counties on the Yucca program. Larkins said he could not say how the advisory panel members would respond to Nevada's request. On last week's workshop, the advisory panel had limited time "and they were really trying to focus on technical issues associated with safe shipment of spent fuel," Larkins said. "There will be more to come and the state will have further opportunities to interact with the ACNW on this issue." Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2002 ***************************************************************** 39 Nevada lawmakers want probe of nuke dump whistleblowers’ removal [online@rgj.com] ASSOCIATED PRESS 11/27/2002 12:33 am LAS VEGAS — 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 spokesman Joe Davis defended the Yucca Mountain site selection and referred to the next step, a review of the process after the DOE submits a license application in 2005 to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “We stand by our science,” Davis said. “We think it’s good and we’re willing to move forward to the NRC.” Davis said criticism about Yucca Mountain from the Nevada congressional delegation was not new, and said he could not discuss Mattimoe and Clark’s personnel records. Reid and Ensign 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. Davis said the Energy Department will respond when Abraham gets Berkley’s letter. Mattimoe and Clark alleged they were removed after expressing 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. AP-WS-11-26-02 1734EST © Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett ***************************************************************** 40 Nevada seeks nuclear dump report probe / Concerns covered up, lawmakers claim [http://sfgate.com] [chronfeedback@sfchronicle.com] Wednesday, November 27, 2002 --> Las Vegas -- Nevada's congressional delegation is demanding an investigation into claims that the Energy Department ignored consultants' misgivings about the use of Yucca Mountain to store nuclear waste -- and then punished the critics. The allegations bolster concerns that the White House is "charging forward with so little facts" in support of the $70 billion project, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday. "Scientists who don't agree with the plan are given short shrift," Reid said. "It's obvious that Yucca Mountain is on the fast track, because of the strength of the power industry in this administration." President Bush, at the urging of the nuclear power industry, has championed burying the waste at Yucca Mountain because storage space is running out at the nation's nuclear power plants. Nevada has filed various lawsuits to stop the project, which the government hopes to open in 2010. Reid and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., late Monday asked for a congressional investigation into the claims that the Energy Department shrugged off scientific anxieties about the project. "We are extremely concerned about these troubling reports of significant quality-assurance problems and mistreatment of federal employees, who have attempted to identify and inform others of these problems," they wrote. Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis said Tuesday that the agency "thoroughly and completely stands behind our scientific studies" and said the final arbiter in assessing the integrity of the studies will be the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which must license the facility. The senators' letter was triggered by a Las Vegas Review-Journal report that a consulting science engineer at the project was fired, and a quality assurance manager was reassigned, after raising concerns about studies that led to the selection of Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, to store 77,000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste. The fired employee, Jim Mattimoe, won a job-reinstatement order from the Department of Labor that is being appealed by his former employer. In the meantime, he is working at the national laboratory at Los Alamos, N.M. The senators said they also had received anonymous letters raising the specter that a "significant" amount of project data had been lost. Davis said he knew of no data loss and that there are multiple backups of computerized data, which are used to generate modeling programs of Yucca's operations. The senators asked David Walker, who heads the General Accounting Office -- the investigative arm of Congress -- to look into "the treatment of whistle- blowers at the Yucca Mountain project and the quality assurance problems raised by these and other whistle-blowers." ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.   Page A - 3 ***************************************************************** 41 USEC layoffs begin voluntarily - The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Wednesday, November 27, 2002 A retirement incentive first will be offered to about 200 employees eligible for full retirement even though they are still working. By Bill Bartleman bbartleman@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650 A USEC Inc. plan to eliminate 200 jobs next year at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is expected to save the company about $15 million a year. USEC officials hope to meet the goal by offering retirement incentives and severance packages to workers who volunteer to be laid off. The plan is the latest in the company's efforts to reduce costs and improve efficiency, said Morris Brown, USEC vice president of operations. Previous efforts have been the closing of the enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio, and the consolidation of shipping operations in Paducah, site of the nation's only plant that enriches uranium for use as a nuclear fuel. In reducing the Paducah work force from its current level of 1,450, Brown said, "Our cost effectiveness studies indicate that we can continue to safely and reliably operate the plant at current production levels with fewer people.” The reductions will keep the plant within employment requirements established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to Victoria Mitlyng, spokesman at the federal agency's regional office in Leslie, Ill. The NRC oversees the operation of the plant to make sure it is operated safely. "Our resident inspectors will be monitoring the reduction to make sure there is no reduction in safety," Mitlyng said. Employees were notified of the planned reduction Tuesday. The retirement incentive will be offered to about 200 salaried and union employees eligible for full USEC retirement benefits even though they are still working. They are workers over 65, workers over 60 with at least eight years of service and workers whose age plus years of service total 83 or more. USEC spokeswoman Elizabeth Stuckle said retirement incentives will include the normal retirement package, a Social Security supplement for those under 62 and a lump-sum payment as part of a benefit offer by the U.S. Department of Energy, which operated the plant until five years ago, when the enrichment operation was privatized. Stuckle said eligible employees will be notified of details of the incentive plan early next month. She said a number of employees have expressed interest in a retirement incentive package. If the reduction goal of 200 is not reached through retirement, USEC will offer incentives to those who volunteer to be laid off. It could be taken by employees who are close to retirement but not eligible for full benefits and employees who have been contemplating leaving to pursue other jobs. It also will include a lump-sum payment from DOE, a severance package from USEC and additional incentives from DOE to help the workers find new jobs. If the 200 target is not met through the two voluntary programs, there will be involuntary layoffs, Brown said. He indicated there could be additional staff reductions in the future. "As improvements are implemented and technology improves, it is inevitable that work can be accomplished with fewer resources," Brown said. Leon Owens, president of the plant's production workers union, said he supports USEC's plan to offer early retirement incentives. "It will benefit our senior workers and recognize their years of service," Owens said. He said an important part of the plan is the DOE offer of a lump-sum incentive similar to what was offered workers who lost their jobs when the Ohio plant closed. He said DOE will finalize its plan within two weeks. ***************************************************************** 42 NRC: decon Wyoming FONSI FR Doc 02-30098 [Federal Register: November 27, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 229)] [Notices] [Page 70980-70983] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr27no02-113] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 030-01176] Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact; Materials License No. 49-09955-10, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the approval of the University of Wyoming's revised decommissioning plan for two former burial sites located near Laramie, Wyoming, and amending NRC Materials License 49-09955-10 to remove the two sites from the license. Environmental Assessment Background The University of Wyoming (licensee) submitted a decommissioning plan to the NRC by letter dated October 21, 1998. The licensee subsequently submitted a revised decommissioning plan to the NRC by letter dated May 30, 2001. The licensee requested that two former radioactive material burial sites located near Laramie, Wyoming, be released for unrestricted use. The NRC is considering the issuance of an amendment to Materials License 49-09955-10 to release these two burial sites for unrestricted use. The purpose of this Environmental Assessment (EA) is to assess the environmental consequences of this license amendment request. Proposed Action The proposed action is to amend NRC Materials License 49-09955-10 to release for unrestricted use the two former burial sites located near Laramie, Wyoming. The licensee would not be required to remediate the two sites if the NRC approves the license amendment request. Purpose and Need for Proposed Action NRC regulation 10 CFR 30.36 (the Timeliness Rule) requires licensees to decommission their facilities when licensed activities cease, and to request termination of their radioactive materials licenses. The purpose of the Timeliness Rule is to reduce the potential risk to the public and environment that may result from delayed decommissioning of inactive facilities and sites. The purpose of the proposed action is to remove the two former burial sites from the University of Wyoming's radioactive materials license because the licensee no longer uses the two burial sites. The licensee would continue to possess radioactive material under its NRC license at other locations specifically listed in the license. If removed from the license, the two burial sites would no longer be subject to NRC regulatory oversight, and the licensee would be in compliance with Timeliness Rule requirements. History/Facility Description The University of Wyoming has used radioactive material since about 1950. The licensee disposed of radioactive waste material at two separate burials sites from about 1952 until 1985. The licensee was authorized to dispose of radioactive material by burial in accordance with 10 CFR 20.304 between 1959-1981. Prior to 1959, burial of radioactive material was not authorized by Sec. 20.304 but may have been conducted under a specific U.S. Atomic Energy Commission authorization or license condition at that time. During 1981, Sec. 20.304 was rescinded by the NRC. The licensee then conducted burials in accordance with Sec. 20.302 until 1985. During 1985, the NRC rejected the licensee's request to continue to dispose of radioactive material by burial in accordance with Sec. 20.302. As a result, burial of radioactive material was permanently discontinued during March 1985. The first burial site was known as the Quarry site. This disposal site was a dry borehole located at a University-owned sandstone quarry. The quarry is situated approximately 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) to the northeast of Laramie. The University believes that the Quarry site was used during 1952-1957. The licensee cannot pinpoint the exact location of the 100-foot (30.48 meters) borehole but is aware of the general location of the borehole. The airport site is located on University-owned land situated approximately 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) west of Laramie. This site is located near the Laramie Municipal Airport and consists of approximately 40,000 square feet (3716 square meters) of land. This second site was used from 1959 until 1985. [[Page 70981]] Radiological Status Based on a records review, the licensee determined that it most likely disposed of only microcurie or millicurie quantities of short- lived radioisotopes in the Quarry site borehole, including phosphorus- 32, sulfur-35, iron-59, zinc-65, and iodine-131. Carbon-14, a long- lived beta-emitting radionuclide, apparently was also buried at this site. The licensee's request to release the two former burial sites for unrestricted use is based on dose modeling calculations using the NRC- approved DandD computer code. The licensee chose the drinking water scenario from DandD Version 1.0 for the Quarry site because this site cannot be farmed. The licensee calculated a resident dose of up to 2.74 millirems per year using DandD, a value well below the 25-millirem limit specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. The licensee disposed of a number of radionuclides at the airport site. The radionuclides of concern at the airport site are hydrogen-3 and carbon-14. At this site, the licensee chose the resident farmer scenario using DandD Version 2.1.0. Using several NRC-approved variations to the DandD default parameters (the default parameters that were adjusted for the airport site were the diet-fruit, number of unsaturated layers, unsaturated zone thickness, and crop yield parameters), the licensee calculated that the resident farmer dose would be less than or equal to 22.5 millirems per year. This calculated value is also below the 25-millirem limit specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. Alternatives The licensee asks that the NRC approve the license amendment request as submitted. The alternatives available to the NRC to the proposed action are: 1. Deny the amendment request by taking no action; or 2. Approve the license amendment request but require the licensee to take some additional action not specified in the revised decommissioning plan such as remediation of the two sites. The Timeliness Rule requirements do not allow the NRC to implement the no action alternative; therefore, Alternative 1 is not a viable option and will be eliminated from further study and consideration in this EA. Affected Environment The Quarry site is situated approximately 8 miles (13 kilometers) to the northeast of Laramie. The exact location of the borehole is not known by the licensee. According to the documentation provided by the licensee, the Quarry site is unoccupied and is occasionally used for livestock grazing. There are no ponds on the property. The area is sparsely covered by vegetation that consists mostly of prairie grasses with some interspersed shrubs and sagebrush. The site is roughly 750 square feet (70 square meters) in size and is located in NW\1/4\ of NW\1/4\ of Section 5, Range 72 West, Township 16 North. The licensee installed a monitoring well down-gradient of the borehole during 1994 in order to obtain groundwater samples for analyses. During well installation, a continuous flow of groundwater was established at about 236 feet (72 meters) below the surface. Previously licensed radioactive material was not detected in the water samples that were collected during late-1994. The airport site consists of approximately 40,000 square feet (3716 square meters) of land. This burial site is located in an 861-acre (348 hectares) tract of University-owned land bounded by Highway 130 to the north, near Highway 230 to the south, the airport to the west, and West Laramie to the east. This site is located in NE\1/4\ of NW\1/4\ of Section 35, Range 74 West, Township 16 North. The site is in a ``steppe'' climate zone, typical of semi-arid grassland prairies. The vegetation is well suited for livestock grazing and consists of grasses, sedges, some forbs, and a few scattered shrubs. According to information provided by the licensee, the nearest aquifer is located at least 700 feet (213 meters) below the surface. Further, the shallow groundwater is unfit for human and livestock consumption. As such, city water is the predominate water source and is piped to residents and businesses near the airport. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action on Occupational and Public Health The licensee's request to release the two burial sites for unrestricted use is based, in part, on dose modeling calculations conducted using the NRC-approved DandD computer code. The licensee concluded that the annual dose to members of the public for the Quarry site would be no more than 2.74 millirems per year, while the annual dose for the airport site would be no more than 22.5 millirems per year. Both calculated doses are below the 25 millirem per year dose limit specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. The NRC conducted a technical review of the licensee's DandD calculations. This review is documented in an internal NRC Memorandum dated December 31, 2001. In summary, the staff concluded that the doses from exposure to residual radioactive material currently situated at both locations are sufficiently low to allow for the unrestricted release of the sites in accordance with 10 CFR 20.1402. Environmental Impacts of Alternative 2 on Occupational and Public Health If the licensee were required to remediate the two burial sites, the individuals conducting reclamation would be subjected to exposure to radioactive material. The radionuclides of concern are hydrogen-3 and carbon-14. Both of these radionuclides emit low energy beta particles. From an occupational health and safety standpoint, the worst case scenario is the intentional exhumation of the buried wastes without any radiological controls in place. This scenario is unlikely because the licensee would be expected to have a radiation protection program in place during remediation. Even without any radiological controls, it is highly unlikely that any worker would receive a dose during reclamation that would exceed the occupational dose limits specified in 10 CFR 20.1201 because of the quantities and types of radionuclides present in the waste material. Therefore, if reclamation were to occur, it is probable that occupational exposures would be within the dose limits specified in the NRC's regulations. If remediation were to occur, the potential harm to the public from exposure to radioactive material would be bounded by the DandD calculations. The DandD scenario used by the licensee assumed that the waste material volume was evenly distributed in the top 6 inches (15 centimeters) of soil. Therefore, the remediation of the two sites would most likely have a minimal radiological impact on members of the public. Remediation of the sites may have short-term health and safety consequences caused by the excavation, packaging, and shipping of the residual radioactive material. These non-radiological impacts would include the normal risks of exhuming the wastes with earth-moving equipment and transportation of the material to an out-of-state disposal facility. The risks include death or injury from a construction or transportation accident. There would be minimal risk to members of the public from exposure to radioactive wastes during transport because the radionuclides of concern are low energy beta emitters. The beta particles would not be able to penetrate the walls of the shipping container. The only radiological risks associated with [[Page 70982]] the transport of the wastes would involve the cleanup of any spilled material. In the unlikely event that a spill were to occur during transport, radiological controls would most likely be implemented during the cleanup of the spilled waste material. Therefore, the risks associated with the transport of the waste material is minimal. If remediated, the material would be transported to an out-of-state disposal facility. Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action on Effluent Releases, Environmental Monitoring, Water Resources, Noise, Geology, Soils, Air Quality, Demography, Biota, Cultural and Historic Resources, and Visual/Scenic Quality The NRC staff considered the potential impacts of the leaching of radioactive and non-radioactive material into the groundwater. The shallow surface groundwater in the vicinity of the two sites is not used as a drinking water supply and is unfit for human consumption. Local members of the public obtain water from the city. The impacts that potentially contaminated groundwater would have on members of the public was considered as part of the DandD modeling scenarios. In summary, the NRC believes that, if left undisturbed, the two sites would have a minimal impact on the environs of the sites, including groundwater. The NRC contacted both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office for their respective assessments. The Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that it was unlikely that the Proposed Action would adversely affect any threatened or endangered species. The Wyoming State Historic Preservation Officer determined that no historic properties would be affected by the Proposed Action. Environmental Impacts of Alternative 2 on Effluent Releases, Environmental Monitoring, Water Resources, Noise, Geology, Soils, Air Quality, Demography, Biota, Cultural and Historic Resources, and Visual/Scenic Quality The remediation of the two former burial sites would cause some environmental harm. The waste material would have to be excavated, packaged, and transported to an out-of-state disposal facility. The excavation process would be accomplished by heavy equipment and trucks that would disturb the general area. The prevailing winds will most likely disperse some of the excavated material offsite. The resulting surface void would have to be refilled with clean soil and contoured or fenced to prevent inadvertent intrusion. Vegetation in the vicinity of the reclaimed site would be temporarily disturbed. Mitigation measures that could reduce the adverse impacts or enhance beneficial impacts were considered by the NRC. The licensee conducted an As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) analysis to compare the benefit from averted dose achieved by remediation with the costs of cleanup and waste disposal. The licensee calculated the benefit from the collective averted dose using the guidance provided in (draft) Regulatory Guide DG-4006, Demonstrating Compliance with the Radiological Criteria for License Termination, dated August 1998. The licensee calculated a total benefit of $8398 from the averted dose for the airport burial site, assuming a monetary value of $2,000 per rem. The licensee also calculated the remediation costs for decommissioning the airport burial site. The estimated cost of excavating, transporting and disposing of the material at an offsite low-level waste disposal facility was about $7.6 million. The majority of the cost involves waste disposal at an offsite location. The licensee also points out that the public would be economically harmed since the University is a publicly funded school and the $7.6 million would have to come from the state general fund or diverted from the University's budget. In summary, the NRC agrees that the cost of remediation would exceed the financial benefit from the averted dose that would be saved if the airport site were to be remediated. The licensee did not conduct an ALARA analysis of the Quarry site, in part, because the exact location of the former borehole is not known. The NRC has found no other activities in the areas that could result in cumulative impacts. Agencies and Persons Contacted The NRC contacted both the U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office during the development of this EA. The Fish and Wildlife Services concluded that it was unlikely that the Proposed Action would adversely affect any threatened or endangered species. Also, according to the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office, the Proposed Action would not affect any historic properties. The Wyoming Emergency Management Agency has reviewed the proposed action and had no additional comments. Conclusion Based on its review, the NRC staff has concluded that the environmental impacts associated with the proposed action are not significant; and therefore, do not warrant denial of the license amendment request. The NRC staff believes that the proposed action will result in minimal environmental impacts. The staff has determined that the proposed action, approval of the license amendment request to release the two former burial sites for unrestricted use, is the appropriate alternative for selection. List of Preparers This EA was prepared by Robert Evans, Senior Health Physicist, Fuel Cycle & Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region IV, and reviewed by Dr. D. Blair Spitzberg, Chief, Fuel Cycle & Decommissioning Branch. List of References Documents pertaining to this EA are available for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html] (the Public Electronic Reading Room). ADAMS accession numbers are located in parentheses following the reference. 1. NRC Inspection Report 030-01176/95-01 dated May 9, 1995 (not available in ADAMS). 2. University of Wyoming letter to NRC dated October 21, 1998 (not available in ADAMS). 3. University of Wyoming letter to NRC dated May 30, 2001 (ML011580440). 4. NRC Memorandum, ``Review of Dose Modeling Supporting the Revised Decommissioning Plan for the Quarry and Airport Burial Sites,'' dated December 31, 2001 (ML013540074). 5. NRC Letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dated April 24, 2002 (ML021140673). 6. NRC Letter to Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office dated April 24, 2002 (ML021140684). 7. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service letter to NRC dated May 20, 2002 (ML021500264). 8. Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office letter to NRC dated June 17, 2002 (ML 021830731). 9. Wyoming Emergency Management Agency letter to NRC dated September 10, 2002 (ML022690527). [[Page 70983]] Finding of No Significant Impact Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR part 51, the Commission has determined that there will not be a significant effect on the quality of the environment resulting from the approval of the revised decommissioning plan and release of the two former burial sites for unrestricted use. Accordingly, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not required for the proposed amendment to Materials License 49-09955-10, which will remove the Quarry and airport sites from the license. This determination is based on the foregoing EA performed in accordance with the procedures and criteria in 10 CFR part 51. This EA and other documents related to this proposed action are available for public inspection and copying at the NRC Public Document Room in NRC's One White Flint North Headquarters building, located at 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. The documents may also be viewed in the Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room at Web address http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html] . Dated in Arlington, Texas, this 19th day of November, 2002. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. D. Blair Spitzberg, Chief, Fuel Cycle Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region IV. [FR Doc. 02-30098 Filed 11-26-02; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 43 Fired Yucca worker wants congressional probe Las Vegas SUN: November 27, 2002 By Benjamin Grove WASHINGTON -- A former Yucca Mountain worker said he is encouraged by Nevada senators' call for a General Accounting Office investigation of his firing. "I hope it goes beyond that," said Jim Mattimoe, who alleges that he was fired after he began drawing attention to flaws in the Energy Department's nuclear waste dump project. "My feeling is that this is a good first step." Mattimoe, who worked for Energy Department contractor Navarro Research and Engineering on Yucca quality assurance, was fired by Navarro in August 2001. Mattimoe said he had raised questions about possible wrongdoing and corruption within the Yucca project to Robert Clark, head of Yucca's quality assurance for the Energy Department. Clark passed those concerns on to Energy's acting Yucca chief, Lake Barrett, now retired, who launched an investigation. But the probe, by law firm Morgan Lewis, turned into a complex investigation of Mattimoe's whistle-blowing, Mattimoe said. The department and Navarro unfairly used the investigation to justify his firing, he said. Calls to the Energy Department and Navarro seeking comment were not immediately returned. Mattimoe appealed to the Labor Department, which investigated and ruled that Mattimoe was wronged and that he should get his job back and be reimbursed. Navarro appealed the Labor ruling, and the appeal is still pending. Meanwhile, Mattimoe, who has 31 years of quality assurance program experience, has been forced to take jobs outside Las Vegas and away from his wife, he said. He is currently working for Los Alamos National Laboratory. In a separate but related action, the Energy Department transferred Clark out of his job as quality assurance manager to another assignment. Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., this week called for a GAO investigation into questions about Yucca's quality assurance program and about the displacement of Mattimoe and Clark from their jobs. "Apparently, these employees were used as an example -- keep your mouth shut or you'll be removed," Reid said in a written statement this week. "I can't help but wonder how many other employees have damaging information and are afraid to come forward." In an interview, Mattimoe said he wants a full congressional investigation, including hearings. "They framed me through a phony investigation," Mattimoe said, referring to the Energy Department and the law firm probe. Mattimoe said he was fired on a conference call. He said the reasons were not fully explained. He was not allowed back into the building to retrieve personal items and an image of his face was posted on the wall, he said. "These people treated me like a criminal," Mattimoe said. "This was humiliating to me and to my family." Mattimoe said he may file a civil lawsuit, pending the Navarro appeal of the Labor Department ruling. Ultimately, Mattimoe wants a full investigation and compensation, as well as peace of mind that the Yucca project is safe. "I believe in this project," Mattimoe said. "There are a lot of good people working on it." The Energy Department aims to make Yucca the world's first permanent high-level nuclear waste dump. Congress and President Bush have approved the site, but the department must obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before it can begin construction. The department has ambitious deadlines to meet in order to hit a 2010 goal for opening Yucca. Quality assurance measures at Yucca are an important part of the NRC licensing process and are key to the Energy Department's case that Yucca would indeed be a safe place to bury 77,000 tons of highly radioactive material. "The Yucca Mountain project represents one of the largest civilian federal projects ever developed," Reid and Ensign wrote to the GAO Monday. "As a result, it should be held to the highest ethical, legal and technical standards." All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 44 FORTY YEARS AFTER THE MISSILE CRISISA a reminder Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 02:00:10 -0600 (CST) http://MondeDiplo.com/2002/11/11cuba Le Monde diplomatique November 2002 FORTY YEARS AFTER THE MISSILE CRISIS by DANIELE GANSER * * Author of Reckless Gamble: The Sabotage of the United Nations in the Cuban Conflict and the Missile Crisis of 1962, University Press of the South, New Orleans, 2000. All quotations in this article were taken from this book RUSSIAN ROULETTE IN CUBA _______________________________________________________ Exactly 40 years ago the Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Only luck and negotiation averted a megaton conflict. The events and behaviours of that crisis, from the cynicism of the hawks in the United States to the US manipulation of the UN, is eerily like the present one over Iraq. ____________________________________________________ PRESIDENT Dwight Eisenhower feared that communism would spread across Latin America in 1959, after Fidel Castro and Che Guevara triumphantly entered Havana. Dictator Fulgencio Batista, who had been an ally of Washington during the cold war, had been overthrown by a guerrilla war supported by most people in Cuba. Castro, who was not yet a communist, launched his programme of land reform (17 May 1959) and began expropriating American companies, starting with land owned by the banana exporter United Fruit Co (4 April 1960). Before that, though, on 10 March 1959, the United States national security council had decided that Castro must be replaced and examined strategies to bring "another government to power". Eisenhower authorised the Central Intelligence Agency to collaborate with terrorist organisations and it began to organise, pay, train and equip Cuban exiles to sabotage Castro's government. A US Senate select committee disclosed in 1975 that the CIA had been authorised, in utmost secrecy, to attempt to assassinate Castro. So the US's undeclared war against Cuba began in 1959. Bombing and sabotage by CIA terrorists began on 21 October 1959 when two US airplanes fired on Havana, killing two and wounding 50. The Cuban foreign minister, Razl Roa, took the case to the UN and, on 18 July 1960, put before the Security Council the number of Cubans who had been killed, the planes' registration numbers, the pilots' names and the source of the attacks. The US ambassador, Henry Cabot Lodge, denied the accusations: "Unnecessary though it seems to me, let me give him [Castro] this assurance, heaped up and overflowing: the United States has no aggressive purpose against Cuba." The Security Council did not take action. In September 1960 Castro went to New York to present his case to the UN General Assembly. "We shall do our best to be brief," he said, and then took five hours to catalogue and denounce the criminal acts against his regime. A month before that, in a top secret memorandum, Eisenhower had authorised $13m to set up a training camp in Guatemala, where exiled Castro opponents were preparing for an invasion of Cuba. This began on a Saturday morning (15 April 1961) when CIA-financed pilots bombed airports in Santiago de Cuba and San Antonio de los Baqos, and the Cuban air force installations in Havana. Early the next morning, 1,500 men waded ashore at the Bay of Pigs. Castro's forces sank the invaders' ship and destroyed or imprisoned the commandos who came ashore. As bombs fell on Cuba, Roa again appealed to the UN for help. He explained that Cuba had been attacked by "a mercenary force organised, financed and armed by the government of the US and coming from Guatemala and Florida". US ambassador Adlai Stevenson called the charges totally false, claiming the US "committed no aggression against Cuba". The British ambassador, Sir Patrick Dean, supported Stevenson, saying that it was the experience of his government that it could rely on the word of the US. But the facts could no longer be denied. President John F Kennedy, who succeeded Eisenhower in January 1961, decided to admit the truth and shouldered the blame in a White House statement on 24 April 1961: "President Kennedy has stated from the beginning that as president he bears sole responsibility." The very next day Washington continued its war by imposing a total embargo on US merchandise destined for Cuba. For Havana, fearful of further aggression, it became imperative to protect the country's sovereignty. The Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, had long observed the US aggression against Cuba. He wrote in his autobiography: "This question was constantly on my mind. If Cuba fell, other Latin American countries would reject us, claiming that for all our might, the Soviet Union had not been able to do anything for Cuba except to make empty protests at the UN." In a reckless gamble he decided to launch Operation Anadyr, and in May 1962 shipped 50,000 Soviet soldiers and 60 nuclear missiles through Nato territory and across the Atlantic to Cuba. Khrushchev signalled his commitment to his Caribbean ally, demonstrating his strength to both the US and China. Soviet soldiers were setting up the missiles in Cuba when, on 14 October 1962, a high-altitude U2 spy plane photographed the sites. The Kennedy administration was shocked. The president immediately summoned his national security council to a secret White House meeting. "Why does he put these in there?" Kennedy wondered. "It's just as if we suddenly began to put a major number of medium-range ballistic missiles in Turkey. Now that'd be goddam dangerous." Kennedy's special assistant, McGeorge Bundy, replied: "Well, we did, Mr President," referring to the Jupiter missiles that the US had stationed in Turkey near the Soviet border in 1961. But Kennedy remained convinced that the missiles, only miles from the coast of Florida, had to go. The CIA assured him they were not yet operational, but construction was continuing and time was of the essence. Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara advised Kennedy not to take the case to the UN: "Once you start this political approach, I don't think you're gonna have any opportunity for a military operation." Shortly after the crisis, Richard Gardner, deputy assistant secretary for international affairs, explained frankly: "We in Washington look upon the UN in a hard and practical way as a means of promoting our national self-interest." Kennedy was under immense pressure from the Pentagon to bomb and invade Cuba, but he wisely decided against it. Only later did it emerge that Soviet ground forces in Cuba were equipped with tactical nuclear missiles, which they would have used if the US military had invaded. That would have set off the first war between the two nuclear superpowers. Kennedy opted for a maritime blockade around Cuba, preventing Soviet ships from bringing in more missiles. In a television address on 22 October 1962, he told a stunned world that the Soviet Union, in "flagrant and deliberate defiance" of the UN charter, had installed missiles in Cuba. "The greatest danger of all would be to do nothing," he stressed, explaining that he had ordered a strict embargo on all military equipment under shipment to Cuba. At the same time a US resolution called for "the prompt dismantling and withdrawal of all offensive weapons in Cuba under the supervision of UN observers". Referring to the blockade, UN secretary general Sinth U Thant, a Buddhist from Burma, later said: "I could scarcely believe my eyes and ears. For technically this meant the start of a war with Cuba and the Soviet Union. It was the grimmest and gravest speech ever made by a head of a state." Trying to de-escalate the crisis, he urged all UN members to refrain from military action. Behind the scenes, he talked with Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro, and confessed to Castro: "If the CIA and the Pentagon continue having this power, I see the future of the world in a very bad light." Adlai Stevenson turned the UN Security Council into "the courtroom of world opinion", as he called it. On 25 October 1962 he presented photographs of Soviet missiles in Cuba to a baffled audience and an embarrassed Soviet ambassador, Valerian Zorin, who was left muttering about faked evidence. Stevenson explained that Kennedy had set up the blockade without consulting the UN Security Council because the Soviet Union would have blocked any such resolution. A friend of Stevenson observed that the ambassador had impressed the US public: "His mail indicated that he had become a hero to that vast American audience whose daily TV diet is a compound of crude violence and sex-drenched commercial lying." US bombers were in the air, carrying nuclear bombs and flight plans to take them to targets in the Soviet Union. Nato forces in western Europe were on alert. American forces assembled in the southern US. Soviet ships and submarines moved into the Caribbean. In Cuba, Soviet soldiers worked day and night to make the missiles operational. Soviet ground troops in Cuba, cut off from supply lines, were equipped with tactical nuclear missiles to fire on a potential US invasion force. Cuba expected an imminent invasion and positioned its forces. Disaster was near. But it did not come. There were negotiations behind the scenes. Determined to avoid war, Kennedy and Khrushchev quietly agreed to withdraw their missiles from Cuba and Turkey. On 28 October 1962 the US promised to refrain from further aggression against Castro's government (it failed to keep its promise). The world was relieved. By November 1962 the most dangerous potential conflict of the cold war had been averted. The lesson is clear, and holds true today. Nations, large and small, should not violate the rules and principles of the UN. They should honour their commitment to the UN, and not exploit the international peace organisation at times of need for support. And the strongest members of the world community should always refrain from unilateral military action. Translated by Luke Sandford ====================== *** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Feel free to distribute widely but PLEASE acknowledge the original source. *** ***************************************************************** 45 Berlin Sends Mixed Signals on Iraq Issue Current Affairs 27.11.2002 Israel used Patriot missiles with limited success in 1991 Suspense mounted as Chancellor Schröder said "yes" to delivery of Patriot missiles to Israel and flyover rights for U.S. forces in a war against Iraq, but turned down a U.S. request for use of German armored vehicles. The fog seems to be gradually lifting on a tricky defense debate that has occupied the German government for weeks and provided ample ammunition to the conservative opposition. After days of intense speculation, unconfirmed media reports and a slew of allegations regarding Germany’s exact role in the case of military action against Iraq and military requests from Israel, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has finally spoken out in clear and unambiguous language. [German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder ] In extracts of a newspaper interview released on Tuesday, Chancellor Schröder confirmed that Germany will provide Israel with anti-missile systems. "If the Israeli government feels it needs this added security, we will help -- and promptly," Schröder told the weekly newspaper Die Zeit. "This is our moral and historical obligation... The security of the Israeli state and its citizens is of utmost importance to us." Patriot missiles only for defense purposes At the same time the Chancellor stressed that the Patriot missiles were purely defensive weapons. "They offer protection against missile attacks. The security of the state of Israel and its citizens is of prime importance to us," he said. The Social Democrat foreign expert, Gernot Erler defended the government's plan to deliver missiles to Israel. He said the request from Jerusalem had nothing to do with a U.S. request for German support in a war against Iraq. The German Defense Ministry said Israel had long ago expressed interest in acquiring new surplus Patriot missiles from Germany and had renewed its request a week ago. The Israeli embassy said the request was made a year ago, but that it had taken on a new urgency due to the looming Iraq crisis. Israel is preparing for possible retaliation from Iraq in the event of U.S. military action against the country. [patriot missile ] The U.S.-built Patriots are designed to intercept and shoot down incoming ballistic missiles and have a limited range. Additionally, the fact that the distance between Iraq and Israel is small, means that the early warning period is short. In military circles there is a agreement that every additional defense system improves security according to the newspaper Berliner Zeitung. In the 1991 Gulf War Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel, though the missiles have been updated since then. German military supply to Israel a sensitive issue Though the Chancellor’s ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens have denied that such a military delivery to Israel would conflict with their vocal opposition to any future U.S.-led war against Iraq, there are indications that the issue is a delicate one. The deputy head of the Social Democrats, Michael Müller described Israel’s request as "sensitive" and said that it would land the coalition in a difficult situation. The request, he said couldn’t just be answered with a "simple nod of the head". Even Green Party Parliamentary leader Winfried Hermann is concerned that Chancellor Schröder and Foreign Minister Fischer’s emphasis that Germany will not take part in military action against Iraq, could now be interpreted loosely. He said that the delivery is "part of a whole concept of Germany's indirect participation in a military exchange." Hermann told the newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau that the German government should "keep their fingers off it." Schröder says "no" to U.S. request for Fuchs vehicles Meanwhile in a news conference on Wednesday Chancellor Schröder also shed more light on the much-speculated wish-list of the United States on German support in a war against Iraq. The Chancellor confirmed that Germany had agreed to grant flyover rights for U.S. forces and transport troops through Germany in the event of military action against Iraq. He also said that Washington had asked Berlin to specifically provide defense systems against chemical, biological and nuclear attack as well as military police, missile defense systems and financial and material help for possible reconstruction of Iraq. But Schröder made it clear that Germany would refuse the use of its Fuchs armored vehicles stationed in Kuwait for any U.S-led military action against Iraq. [Fuchs] He told reporters it remained "clear as glass" that the German Parliament had only allowed a mandate for a twelve-month deployment in the "Enduring Freedom" action in the war against international terrorism. "We don’t have the intention of moving away from this mandate," he said. Germany will not be part of a military intervention in Iraq, he added. Fuchs for Israel but no more The German Chancellor also said that Germany would also fulfill another Israeli request of providing some of its Fuchs armored vehicles, which are equipped to detect chemical, biological and nuclear contamination since there would be use to protect Israel’s own population. But Schröder ruled out any further military help to Israel. "We do not intend to provide further resources beyond what I have said, and definitely no more personnel," Schröder said. Asked if Germany would help rebuild Iraq after a war, Schröder said, "We expect that there will be no need for a military intervention and that is the German government’s political goal, and I think it would be wrong to assume the country will have to be rebuilt." Schröder’s clear statements lay to rest speculation over the mission of German troops stationed in Kuwait in a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq. There are currently 52 soldiers and six fox reconnaissance armoured vehicles based in Kuwait. Schröder criticised for stance on U.S. Schröder’s permission for U.S. forces to use German airspace and allow them transit rights within Germany in the event of war against Iraq has led to criticism even within the ruling coalition. Angelika Beer, the Green Party’s expert on defense matters questioned the legitimacy of the decision. "If there is no clear international law mandating a war, then there can be no decree granting airspace, because this would effectively constitute involvement in a war violating international law, something the Chancellor has ruled out," she said. Germany’s conservative opposition has shown itself to be unsatisfied with Chancellor Schröder’s method of dealing with U.S. requests. Wolfgang Schäuble, the foreign policy expert of the Christian Democratic Party said that the Chancellor’s explanations were not satisfactory. The Parliamentary Chairman of the Free Democrats (FDP), Wolfgang Gerhardt said that Schröder’s explanations do not end the discussion within the ruling coalition. There are now fears that Schröder’s categorical refusal in letting the U.S. use its Fuchs vehicles might throw a shadow on already strained U.S.-German relations that were beginning to show signs of improvement of late. © DW 2002 ***************************************************************** 46 Sen. Lugar Plans Hearings on Iraq Las Vegas SUN: November 27, 2002 By KEN GUGGENHEIM ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON- The United States had the luxury of military and political support from more than 30 nations, including prominent Arab states, the last time it took on Saddam Hussein's Iraq. This time, if war comes, how large the force would be is uncertain. But even should it come from far fewer countries, the next chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says, "It will be just as effective in terms of the military result." Sen. Richard Lugar, who takes over the committee when Congress reconvenes in January, said in an interview Tuesday that the difficulty of proving chemical and biological materials in Iraq are intended for weapons could undermine chances of winning support from reluctant allies, such as France or Russia. He said he hopes that any attack would be backed by a broad coalition, as it was when President Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush, marshaled a U.S.-dominated coalition to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 1991. Lugar, considered a Senate expert on arms control and foreign affairs, recognizes that may be impossible. Iraq probably will insist that any chemical or biological materials it possesses are used for peaceful purposes, Lugar said, and it would be difficult for the United States to prove otherwise. "Some countries might argue that the United States is too eager to find problems here, and further proof is required for the world community," he said. Iraq is likely to be the dominant issue facing Lugar's committee, but he commented on a wide range of topics in an Associated Press interview looking ahead to Lugar's tenure. He said: -The United States should insist that Saudi Arabia do more to stop the financing of terrorists, "with the implied threat the United States will take charge of the situation, and we will attempt to impose some controls." With possible war with Iraq approaching, the United States should have high expectations of its allies, Lugar said. "This is a time that firmness ought to be on the part of the United States," he said. -His committee is likely to hold hearings on reports that Pakistan, a close ally in the war against terror, has helped North Korea's nuclear weapons program. -He wants to follow up a program he began 11 years ago with then-Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., to dismantle nuclear warheads from the former Soviet Union. Lugar said a similar program is needed to address weapons of mass destruction in other nations. Iraq faces a Dec. 8 deadline for providing the United Nations with details of its nuclear, chemical and biological programs, and U.N. inspectors will determine whether it is meeting its obligation to disarm. Leaders in Iraq have insisted the nation has no weapons of mass destruction. Lugar said that is not true. Lugar, who also headed the Foreign Relations Committee in 1985-1986, said he plans hearings on what Iraq might be like in the aftermath of any U.S. invasion. Many lawmakers are concerned about questions such as the difficulty of finding qualified political leaders and the potential for ethnic and religious conflict. On Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld complaining that he has been unable to get information from the Pentagon about how the conflict might affect oil prices and supplies. The Pentagon said the letter was being reviewed. Lugar also said he is planning hearings to explore overall political situations overseas. Like current chairman Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., Lugar has stressed the importance of bipartisan cooperation on the committee. One area of possible dispute is the nomination of Otto Reich for the top State Department position on Latin America. Lugar said he has told the Bush administration he hopes someone else will be nominated. Given the turmoil in the region, "I think we really need a very, very strong leader who has strong bipartisan confidence." Bush bypassed Congress in January and gave Reich a recess appointment as assistant secretary of state last year after Democrats refused to hold hearings on the nomination. Democrats said he was unqualified; Republicans said he was being punished for his support of the Cuban embargo. The recess appointment ended last week, and Reich was named special envoy for the region. The Bush administration has not said if he will be renominated for the assistant secretary's position. On the Net: Lugar: http://lugar.senate.gov/ [http://lugar.senate.gov/] All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 47 DOE lauds Livermore Lab patriarch Tri-Valley Herald Online : Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 10:02:01 AM MST Energy Secretary Abraham takes first tour of local labs By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER Wheeled before hundreds of hushed colleagues, Livermore Lab patriarch Edward Teller on Tuesday shrugged off the infirmity of his 94 years to accept the U.S. Energy Department's top accolade for his powerful influence on science and national defense policy. Federal Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham sat by Teller's side to deliver a gold medallion and plaque extolling his advocacy of hydrogen bombs, missile defenses and scientific education. Abraham called the scientist a "great American institution" who helped win World War II and the Cold War and inspired students and policymakers, "driven by a love of country and a love of science." "You and the people here man the front lines of science, seeking out new frontiers and the answers to the mysteries of the universe," Abraham said. Outside the lab gates, activists hoisted signs deriding nuclear weapons science with the slogan, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." But inside, a standing-room only crowd of Livermore staff craned forward to hear what Teller's closer associates have warned may be his last utterances in public. Jauntily attired in black cowboy boots, a navy pinstripe suit and an American flag tie, the Hungarian physicist gazed sightlessly and recounted selling the Navy on a miniaturized nuclear warhead that weaponeers at Los Alamos called impossible, then touched on his promotion of "Star Wars" defenses to President Reagan. Teller finally looked to a future in which biologists lay bare the secrets of life and may "create a new world by the end of the century." "One of the 24 particles that determine what I inherited from my parents has been found and studied in detail by Livermore," Teller said, referring to the decoding of human chromosome 19, now almost complete. Teller marveled that the blueprints for "man, a pine tree and bacteria" all share the same alphabet. "It is a wonderful testimony to the unique origin of life," he said. "To understand that, to understand life, may be the big thing coming in the 21st century." The energy secretary took a whirlwind Bay Area tour Monday and Tuesday, getting his first look after almost two years in office at labs that employ about13,000, just over a tenth of his agency's science and national-security empire. At the Berkeley lab, Abraham peered at a CAT scan of a human breast cell, captured by X-rays in three dimensions and rotating on a computer screen. He drew his wife, Jane, close and tried to explain: "This allows the sectioning of a cell so you can tell who knows what" -- he glanced around for help -- "so you can see what the cancer cell isn't doing right." Abraham watched -- and scientists breathed a sigh of relief -- as a portal went ablaze in light, ceremonially firing up a new X-ray beam for studying heavy-metal pollutants in soil. At Livermore, intelligence analysts briefed him on weapons of mass destruction evidence in Iraq and North Korea. Then lab executives took Abraham inside a vault-like area to talk about U.S. nuclear weapons, then on a tour of the lab's gigantic, $4 billion laser fusion machine. Abraham didn't pretend to be a science expert but told everyone that the Bush administration is backing their work in energy and national security. "It is a very vital part of what makes this country safe and free," he said. Contact Ian Hoffman at ihoffman@angnewspapers.com [ihoffman@angnewspapers.com] RETURN TO TOP ©1999-2002 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers ***************************************************************** 48 New Mexico Lab Fires Two Whistleblowers statesman.com | AP Online By RICHARD BENKE Associated Press Writer ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)--Los Alamos National Laboratory has fired two whistleblowers after someone delivered their reports outlining widespread theft and fraud at the lab to a national watchdog group. At least one congressional investigation was already under way Tuesday, a day after Glenn Walp and Steven Doran received identical letters terminating their employment. Walp and Doran were hired this year to investigate the nuclear research lab's handling of government property and money. They said they uncovered a lack of controls on money and high-tech hardware. Walp submitted a report in March that listed 263 desktop or laptop computers as missing since 1999, many of them presumed stolen. In all, about $2.7 million worth of equipment is unaccounted for, according to Walp's reports. ``I think there has been a culture that has been embedded in that environment that is almost conducive to committing a theft,'' he said Tuesday by phone from Santa Fe. Information from Walp's reports was turned over anonymously to news media and to the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit watchdog group. Walp and Doran said they were not the source. Earlier Tuesday, Lab spokesman Jim Danneskiold said he couldn't say why Walp and Doran were fired. But he said the lab did not need a reason because both were still in their probationary phase of employment and subject to discretionary dismissal--as long as the firings were not retaliatory. ``The laboratory's position is that there was no retaliation in these two terminations,'' Danneskiold said. Both Walp and Doran said Tuesday that they had done nothing wrong and would work with Congress and the FBI to clear up the climate at the lab. Doran blamed lab officials for ``roadblocking'' the investigation with legal maneuvers. Lab spokesman Jim Danneskiold said Tuesday that the lab, as any institution would, consulted legal counsel when allegations of wrongdoing were uncovered. ``The FBI is forwarded any evidence as soon as it comes to the lab's attention,'' he said, noting that Los Alamos officials have cooperated since the investigation began. The University of California operates the nuclear weapons laboratory for the Department of Energy. Security at the lab has been under scrutiny since scientist Wen Ho Lee was fired and accused of dozens of lab security violations. Lee pleaded guilty in September 2000 to a single count of using an unsecured computer to download a defense document and a federal judge freed him with an apology. On The Net: Los Alamos National Laboratory: http://www.lanl.gov AP-NY-11-27-02 0841EST Copyright 2002, The Associated Press. The information contained ***************************************************************** 49 Senate committee launching investigation of firings at Los Alamos nuclear laboratory =TheHill.com= NOVEMBER 27, 2002 Senate committee launching investigation of firings at Los Alamos nuclear laboratory By Peter Brand Congressional investigators are looking into the firing of two Department of Energy officials just weeks after they reported security breaches at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. On Monday — the same day President Bush signed the Department of Homeland Security bill — the Energy Department dismissed Glenn Walp and Steven Doran from the New Mexico facility, which conducts some of the nation’s most sensitive nuclear research. The action came after Walp wrote an internal memo detailing $1.3 million worth of missing equipment at the lab, including desktop computers and radio devices. Walp, who was head of the laboratory’s Office of Security Inquiries, had received a perfect score on his job performance evaluation just three months ago. Doran worked in his office. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who will become chairman of the Finance Committee in January, ordered his staff to investigate the matter. Grassley has also been looking into allegations of credit card fraud at Los Alamos, which surfaced earlier this month. Jill Gerber, a Finance Committee staffer who works for Grassley, met Monday with investigators from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), a Washington-based watchdog group that made Walp’s memo public. “We don’t know much at the moment,” Gerber said, adding that Grassley, who is known for his efforts to protect federal employees who blow the whistle on government waste and corruption, will be reviewing the information provided by POGO in coming weeks. The Department of Energy, which controls all nuclear research labs, earlier directed its Inspector General’s Office to investigate the security breaches. In addition, the FBI is conducting its own criminal probe of the alleged credit card fraud by Los Alamos employees. Grassley’s investigation could cause friction between him and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), the incoming chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Domenici has been fiercely protective of the Los Alamos facility, which is one of the largest employers in his state. Domenici could not be reached for comment. It is not clear whether he will initiate oversight into Los Alamos. However, Gerber said, “I’m sure Sen. Grassley would definitely work with Sen. Domenici, no matter what.” Danielle Brian, POGO’s executive director, charged in a statement Tuesday that the Department of Energy and Los Alamos officials “were motivated in the firing by a desire to silence” Walp and Doran. The House Science and Energy and Commerce committees also have taken an interest in the case. “The stuff we’re doing is very preliminary,” Heidi Tringe, a spokesperson for the Science Committee, said last week. “We were made aware of it basically through [newspaper reports].” The committee, which has oversight of the lab’s research facilities, has been reviewing the Los Alamos case for about two weeks. But any investigations by Congress could be slow going. Congressional investigators are hesitant to pursue the case because they are waiting for the FBI to complete its investigation. Nevertheless, Congress has the authority to conduct its own probe, according to Charles Tiefer, a former deputy House counsel and professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. “Congressional committees have investigated every scandal from Watergate and Iran-Contra to Arthur Andersen and Enron at the same time as the FBI,” said Tiefer. “The Supreme Court has definitively declared that Congress can conduct parallel oversight investigations at the same time as law enforcers look into the same matters.” This is only the latest in a string of congressional reviews of Department of Energy facilities and security procedures. In August, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, issued a report assailing the department’s security procedures. And Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.), chair of the Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, requested a report from the General Accounting Office on the security at America’s nuclear weapons facilities. The report, which Shays asked for in October 2001, is scheduled to be issued in March. [http://www.shalomctr.org/html/peace82.html] ***************************************************************** 50 Energy Secretary Dedicates New Science Facility at Berkeley Lab energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: November 26, 2002 [Print Friendly Version] BERKELEY, CALIF. -- Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham was at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory today to cut an electronic ribbon and dedicate the Molecular Environmental Science beamline, the newest beamline at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS). "This versatile, new beamline will be a valuable addition to this national user facility, already one of the 'bright lights' in the Department of Energy's fleet of synchrotron light facilities," Secretary Abraham said. "This beamline will provide new and unique capabilities to look at extremely small particles that interact with contaminants in our environment and allow unparalleled observation of how these particles impact the environment. The results of this research may be new and more cost effective ways to meeting the challenge of environmental cleanup, which is one of the Department of Energy's critical missions." The ALS at Berkeley Lab is a synchrotron that accelerates electrons to energies of greater than 1.9 billion electron volts (GeV), focuses them into a tight beam and sends this beam around the curved path of a storage ring for several hours. Beams of x-ray light can then be extracted and sent down beamlines to research instruments. The Molecular Environmental Science (MES) beamline cost $6 million to construct, with funding from the department's Office of Science. The MES beamline will, among other applications, provide researchers with the ability to study environmental contaminants at the molecular level. The beamline will generate x-rays at energies and wavelengths made to order for investigating elements in the earth's crust of interest to researchers. These beams can also be used on wet samples, a critical requirement for observing environmental chemistry in a natural setting. The MES beamline will service three experimental endstations equipped with the instrumentation needed to perform wet spectroscopy, high-pressure photoemission spectroscopy and scanning transmission x-ray microscopy. With the scanning transmission x-ray microscope, researchers will also be able to obtain CAT scan-like images of living cells. Media Contact: Jill Schroeder Vieth (DOE), 202/586-4940 Jeff Sherwood (DOE), 202/586-5806 Lynn Yarris (LBNL), 510/486-5375 Release No. PR-02-249 ***************************************************************** 51 Abraham Presents Secretary's Gold Award to Edward Teller energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release RELEASE DATE: November 26, 2002 [Print Friendly Version] LIVERMORE, CALIF. - Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today presented Dr. Edward Teller, Director Emeritus of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, with the Secretary's Gold Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to science and the security of the nation. The award is the Energy Department's highest honorary award and includes a plaque with citation, a medallion and a rosette. Secretary Abraham presented Dr. Teller with the award during his visit to the laboratory. "Dr. Teller is one of the giant figures of the 20th century, whose contributions to winning both World War II and the Cold War are immeasurable," Abraham told lab employees. "But I believe that Edward Teller should also be regarded as one of the most important figures of the 21st century. Dr. Teller did not just help make the world safe from tyranny and aggression, he helped usher in the era of supercomputing that drives so much of our current science. His unwavering support for scientific education has inspired countless young men and women to pursue lives in the sciences." Dr. Teller's citation reads: In recognition of your outstanding contributions to science and the security of our Nation. Your visionary role in the development of thermonuclear explosives, the establishment of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the secure second strike deterrence and missile defense, as well as advising many U.S. Presidents, is especially appreciated. Your broad and far-reaching vision, brilliant technical insights, and strong leadership have inspired generations of scientists, students, policy makers, and leaders. Dr. Teller was a physicist at Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II and later became its Assistant Director. His efforts led to his co-founding of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1952. He served as director of the Livermore Lab (1958-1960). He has taught physics at the University of California and founded and chaired the U.C. Davis Department of Applied Science, located adjacent to the Livermore Lab. In 1975, he was named Director Emeritus of the Livermore Lab, and was also appointed Senior Research Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, positions that he still holds. LLNL Newsline - Special Edition [http://www.llnl.gov/llnl/06news/Employee/articles/2002/11-27-02- newsline.pdf] Media Contact: Jill Schroeder Vieth, 202/586-4940 Jeff Sherwood, 202/586-5806 Release No. PR-02-250 Back to Previous Page> ***************************************************************** 52 Energy Secretary Tours, Speaks at Berkeley Lab* The Daily Californian *The Daily Cal* Spencer Abraham *By SARAH MOURRA* Daily Cal Staff Writer Wednesday, November 27, 2002 The United States Secretary of Energy dedicated an electronic beamline at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory yesterday. But underneath the ceremonial event loomed deeper issues concerning the environment and nuclear waste disposal. Secretary Spencer Abraham toured the facility, followed by an entourage of press, faculty from UCSF and UC Berkeley, and lab officials. He cut an electronic ribbon, inaugurating the new Molecular Environmental Science beamline, the lab's 35th beamline to enter operation since 1993. The $6 million structure will be used for a wide range of scientific studies. "This allows us to take a CAT scan of a cell," said UCSF professor Carolyn Larabell, who studies breast cancer. "This has eight times better resolution than a light microscope and allows us to look for abnormalities and imperfections at an early stage." The beamline is attached to the lab's Advanced Light Source, which accelerates electrons and sends them around a curved storage ring, allowing for x-rays that power research instruments. But the new beamline was not the only thing on Abraham's itinerary. Lab officials pulled him into a press-barred session to discuss plans for Yucca Mountain, the newly approved Nevada site for nuclear waste disposal. Reporters watched through glass doors as one lab official pointed to a poster flow chart which read "Water is the key" and depicted several graphics of the Nevada site. Another graphic read "LBNL does hydrology." The Department of Energy based their assessment of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear repository on the site's hydrology and geology. Earlier this year, Congress voted to approve the Yucca Mountain site as a permanent repository for high-level radioactive waste, including spent nuclear reactor fuel. The controversial decision overrode objections from Nevada's congressional delegation, state government and much of the state's population. In a speech to lab employees, Abraham praised the technological and scientific accomplishments of both the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Berkeley lab. "These labs are the crown jewels of our national assets," he said. "What gives us an edge on the war on terror is the development going on in our labs." Abraham also spoke about the lack of youth outreach. "The one thing concerning me is the need to inspire young people to pursue careers in math, science and engineering," he said. But some employees did not share Abraham's optimism for outreach programs based at the national laboratories. "One of the problems this country faces in inspiring young people to enter the scientific fields is that scientists don't want to take the time to do that," said one lab employee who wished to remain anonymous. "The scientific community can be hostile to people." (c) 2002 Berkeley, California Email: dailycal@dailycal.org ***************************************************************** 53 Congress mulls inquiry into N.M. lab Albuquerque Tribune Online By Richard Benke The Associated Press The investigative subcommittee spearheading Congress' probe of corporate failures and insider stock trading has set its sights on Los Alamos National Laboratory. Rep. Jim Greenwood, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's investigative arm, requested documents from the University of California - which operates the nuclear weapons laboratory - after reports of widespread fraud and theft. In a letter dated Nov. 15, the Pennsylvania Republican said the allegations "raise serious questions about procurement policies and procedures at LANL and oversight of these matters by LANL, UC and the Department of Energy." Greenwood specifically asked for documents relating to the lab's guidelines for purchasing equipment and oversight of the purchasing process. Greenwood said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the subcommittee "probably" will look into the firings of two men hired earlier this year by the lab to investigate its handling of government property and money. On Monday, Los Alamos fired Glenn Walp and Steven Doran after someone anonymously delivered their reports concerning theft and fraud at the lab to a national watchdog group. Walp and Doran received identical termination letters saying, "you are not a suitable fit for the requirements of your position." The two said they remained silent to protect their jobs and the investigation, while cooperating with inquiries by the FBI and with the Energy Department inspector general's office. Lab spokesman Jim Danneskiold said late Tuesday that Los Alamos, as any institution would, consulted legal counsel when allegations of wrongdoing were uncovered. "The FBI is forwarded any evidence as soon as it comes to the lab's attention," he said, noting that Los Alamos officials have cooperated since the investigation began. Walp said Tuesday, "I think there has been a culture that has been embedded in that environment that is almost conducive to committing a theft." Danneskiold responded: "I have worked for the lab for 12 years and haven't observed that culture. The fact that the investigation has uncovered as couple of instances of theft in an institution of 12,000 hard-working individuals does not in any way back up (Walp's) statement." "The laboratory's position is that there was no retaliation in these two terminations," Danneskiold said. The Energy and Commerce Committee and its investigative subcommittee have been involved in uncovering the deteriorating financial conditions of Enron and Global Crossing as well as whether Martha Stewart knowingly lied to Congress about receiving inside information before selling her Imclone stock. Danneskiold said Los Alamos will cooperate fully with any request from congressional investigators. Print this [http://www.abqtrib.com/print/index.cfm] © The Albuquerque Tribune. ***************************************************************** 54 Russia: Maps Put Geologists on FSB's Hit List Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2002. Page 1 By Yevgenia Borisova Staff Writer The Federal Security Service searched the office of an Irkutsk research institute that supplied environmentalists with maps of radioactive pollution around a local plant, and two geologists who prepared the maps are likely to be charged with revealing state secrets, Moscow environmentalists said Tuesday. The Irkutsk branch of the FSB on Friday confiscated the maps from the office of Baikal Ecological Wave, which had commissioned the maps from the Sosnovgeos geological institute last year. Sosnovgeos was searched Monday. Yulia Zhilina -- a co-chair of Baikal Ecological Wave, a member of the International Socio-Ecological Union -- said she had no reason to believe the maps produced on contract by the state institute were secret and she questioned the timing of the raids, nearly 10 months after the maps were distributed. "Geologists told us the maps did not have the concrete quadrants that would cause them to be labeled secret," Zhilina said at a news conference in Moscow. "And they were distributed back in February together with a report on radioactive pollution to the Angarsk and Irkutsk administrations, Gosatomnadzor [the state nuclear watchdog], the weather service, the regional radioecological council and local health services." The question of secrecy, she said, was never raised. In their search of the environmental group's office Friday, the FSB officers also confiscated lists of foreign volunteers who come to Irkutsk every year to help with research, Zhilina said. "Perhaps they want to accuse us of spying? Or of selling secret information abroad?" With the maps and their 107-page report, environmentalists wanted to attract attention to increasing radioactivity around a chemical plant near Angarsk, a town of 300,000 people, she said. The plant is involved in the production of nuclear fuel."What we want is for the authorities to properly investigate this threat to people's health," Zhilina said. Alexei Yablokov, president of the Center for Ecological Policy of Russia, said at Tuesday's news conference that the FSB case could have been intended either to protect the interests of the Angarsk plant or to prevent the environmentalists from scuttling a planned oil pipeline from Angarsk to China. Yukos and Transneft, which are bidding to construct the $2.5 billion pipeline, both denied any involvement in the FSB's case. Ivan Blokov, the director of Greenpeace Russia, agreed that protecting state secrets did not appear to be the regional FSB officers' main concern. "If they were worried about secrets, what were they doing all these 10 months?" Laughing, he quoted a letter from the governor of a Siberian region who asked the FSB to make all ecological data about his region secret. "Because it scares investors off," Blokov said. Svyatoslav Zabelin, co-chair of the International Socio-Ecological Union, also said the FSB's motives in Irkutsk should be questioned. "Instead of dealing with ecological safety, they are doing everything the other way around. They are telling everyone -- don't cooperate with the ecologists." The environmentalists' report were backed up by data collected by postgraduate students of Tomsk Politechnical University who studied the concentration of radionuclides in trees. Leonid Rikhvanov, head of the university's mineral resources department, said in a statement provided by Baikal Wave that a large concentration of radionuclides was found in trees 11 kilometers from the Angarsk chemical plant. "Such results, in my view, must be understood as undoubted documented fact of the negative effect of the industrial activities of the plant on the environment," Rikhvanov wrote in his statement, dated March 28. "Systematic research on tree stumps, on soil, on snow should be conducted to measure uranium-235 isotopes, fluoride and other elements, and also medical and biological research to assess the effect of these [radioactive] releases on the environment and people." The authorities did not inititate any further research into the extent of radioactive pollution in the region, as the environmentalists requested, Zhilina said. Instead, the environmentalists and geologists became the targets. The deputy head of the FSB's Irkutsk office, Alexander Nikolyuk, said Sunday that no criminal charges would be filed against the environmentalists, but charges of disclosing state secrets would be filed against "those who supplied secret information" to them. The environmentalists believe this means the Sosnovgeos geologists. "We have already hired an attorney to defend them," Zhilina said. "We cannot just abandon them. They work for a state institution and are a much easier target than we are." No one answered the telephone at Sosnovgeos on Tuesday afternoon Moscow time, already evening in Irkutsk. But one of the geologists who cooperated with Baikal Wave, Vsevolod Medvedev, said in an interview posted on the Antiatom.ru web site that the maps were not secret. Medvedev said he had the impression the case was more about Baikal Wave than about the maps. "The thing is that back in the summer the head of the Angarsk plant wrote a letter to the FSB asking it to protect it from attacks [from environmentalists]," he wrote. The FSB did not respond to questions Tuesday. But environmentalists provided a copy of a letter the Angarsk plant director wrote April 5 in response to Rikhvanov's statement, which indicates the director was worried. "This statement on official university letterhead that has been widely disseminated now by the public environmental circles of Irkutsk and Angarsk morally and economically damages the interests of the Angarsk plant, forming a negative attitude among the population to nuclear energy as a whole." Although the FSB official said no charges would be filed against Baikal Wave, the FSB has opened a criminal case on the revelation of state secrets and Interfax reported Tuesday that the environmental group was on a list of organizations that "illegally had documents that contain a state secret." Zhilina said her organization will try hard to prove that the maps were not secret. But Yablokov said that it would be next to impossible. "Look, Roskartografiya [the federal geodesy and cartography agency] gave us this brochure," Yablokov said. "It is classified. See the numbers? It is a document dated 1996 that outlines which maps must be classified. We looked at it and understood that everything -- virtually any map beginning with a scale of 1 kilometer to 1 centimeter on which you could identify the coordinates of a secret object -- could be made secret. "That map did not have the coordinates that could identify a secret object. But the problem is not this. The problem is that this instruction is classified. We cannot use it in court. But it could be used against the geologists. "Before, there were [Alexander] Nikitin and [Grigory] Pasko. If we don't manage to protect these people [the geologists], no one will cooperate with us in the future and it will be very difficult for us to work. We absolutely must save our sources." © Copyright 2002, The Moscow Times. All Rights Reserved. Visit ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************