***************************************************************** 07/30/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.193 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Russia to Complete Iranian Nuclear Station * 2 Russia to Complete Iranian Nuclear Station 3 U.S. Officials Arrive in Russia 4 US may put Iranian nuclear plant on hit list - 5 Iran May Soon Have The Bomb – With Russian Help 6 U.S. Team To Press Moscow on Iran Issues 7 U.S. quiet on Russia-Iran nuclear project 8 Iran warns of any attack on its nuclear installations 9 Iran's N-plant gets on US nerves 10 Russian nuclear reactor deal with Iran provokes US NUCLEAR REACTORS 11 US: NRC Staff to Meet with TVA to Discuss Restart of Unit 1 at Brown 12 UK: Ipswich, has shown how easy it could be for terrorists to attack 13 US: Regulators cite problem at Oconee Nuclear Station 14 A Reinvigorating Visit For Belarus Children 15 Bruce Power ready to restart two reactors 16 Taiwan: Plant workers angered by early-shutdown talk NUCLEAR SAFETY 17 Radioactive Bilberries Removed From Moscow Markets 18 US: NRC Cites Oconee Nuclear Plant For Violation of Low to Moderate 19 Radioactive Bilberries Removed From Moscow Markets * NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 20 UK: MARGARET BECKETT ANNOUNCES NEXT STEPS ON MANAGING RADIOACTIVE 21 US: Feds work feverishly on Yucca project 22 US: Reluctant SLC Council OKs Train Deal 23 US: Utah Justices Agree to Decide Waste-Tax Backers' Suit 24 Opposition criticises Fed Govt over handling of SA dump sites 25 US: EPA Scarboro sampling complete 26 US: Letter: Interesting to note votes on Yucca 27 US: UK: Next steps on managing radioactive waste announced 28 AU: MP to consult Hill over nuclear waste concerns 29 Incentive scheme planned for nuclear dumps 30 AU: Govt accused of double standards on nuclear waste* 31 US: Nebraska: Role of Nelson colleague scrutinized at waste trial NUCLEAR WEAPONS 32 The Sunflower August 2002 (No. 63) 33 SOUTH KOREA: North Korea reportedly ready to discuss reconciliation US DEPT. OF ENERGY 34 Fluor managers promoted, moved 35 Hanford's glassification price tag still a mystery 36 Sentimental ties to SNS contracts 37 Engineer Lappa fought Livermore, UC - and won OTHER NUCLEAR 38 Energy Bill: Fueled by Pork ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Russia to Complete Iranian Nuclear Station * *July 30, 2002* News Content TehranTimes Navigation MOSCOW -- Russia will complete the construction of atomic power plant in Iran despite opposition from Washington, Russia's Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said late Friday. According to Rumyantsev, Russia had no joint nuclear projects with Iran besides the construction of the Bushehr Plant in the south of the country, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported. "I can guarantee that we do not cooperate in military uses of nuclear energy at all," Rumyantsev added. However, "This issue will still be raised in our talks with the United States, which are concerned that Iran may get hold of nuclear weapons," the minister admitted. The United States and Israel fear that the Russian-Iranian nuclear cooperation could enable Tehran to acquire the technology needed to build nuclear weapons. But Iran has repeatedly said the plant is being built only for civilian energy purposes, and it allows regular inspections of Bushehr by the IAEA, AFP reported. Currently equipped with a single reactor, experts say Bushehr could in theory become operational as early as September 2003. U.S. President George W. Bush raised Washington's opposition about Russian nuclear aid to Iran at his summit in Moscow last month with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. http://www.tehrantimes.com ***************************************************************** 2 Russia to Complete Iranian Nuclear Station July 30, 2002 [TehranTimes Navigation] MOSCOW -- Russia will complete the construction of atomic power plant in Iran despite opposition from Washington, Russia's Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said late Friday. According to Rumyantsev, Russia had no joint nuclear projects with Iran besides the construction of the Bushehr Plant in the south of the country, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported. "I can guarantee that we do not cooperate in military uses of nuclear energy at all," Rumyantsev added. However, "This issue will still be raised in our talks with the United States, which are concerned that Iran may get hold of nuclear weapons," the minister admitted. The United States and Israel fear that the Russian-Iranian nuclear cooperation could enable Tehran to acquire the technology needed to build nuclear weapons. But Iran has repeatedly said the plant is being built only for civilian energy purposes, and it allows regular inspections of Bushehr by the IAEA, AFP reported. Currently equipped with a single reactor, experts say Bushehr could in theory become operational as early as September 2003. U.S. President George W. Bush raised Washington's opposition about Russian nuclear aid to Iran at his summit in Moscow last month with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. [http://www.tehrantimes.com ***************************************************************** 3 U.S. Officials Arrive in Russia Las Vegas SUN: Today: July 30, 2002 at 3:45:14 PDT MOSCOW- Improving ties between Russia and the United States faced a test Tuesday, with two high-level American officials due in Moscow days after President Vladimir Putin's government announced plans to step up cooperation with Iran and build six nuclear reactors there. U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Undersecretary of State John Bolton were to arrive in Moscow. Both visits were planned before Friday's approval by the Russian government of a 10-year plan to dramatically expand ties with Iran beyond its existing contract to complete a nuclear reactor at Bushehr. The $800 million deal has been a sticking point in Russian-American relations for years because U.S. officials fear the cooperation could help Iran develop nuclear weapons. Russia insists there is no danger that could happen. Russia's new cooperation plan takes the nuclear deal even further, envisaging a total of six Russian-built nuclear reactors in Iran - four at Bushehr and two at a yet-to-be-built plant in Akhvaz. The government resolution, which has been approved by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov but still must be signed by top Russian and Iranian officials, also calls for Russia to help Iran explore oil fields, launch communications satellites and build passenger jets. It comes at a time of improved Russian-U.S. ties ushered in by Putin's westward-leaning policies and his support for the U.S. anti-terror campaign following the Sept. 11 attacks. Bolton was to meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov as part of regular talks on nuclear arms cuts and proliferation issues. Putin and Bush signed a treaty in May to slash American and Russian nuclear arsenals by two-thirds. On Sunday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said no specific mechanism or timetable has been set for implementing the treaty, which calls for each country to cut its nuclear arsenal to 1,700 to 2,200 warheads by 2012, from the 6,000 each is now allowed. "We still have to decide how that should be done and when," the Interfax news agency quoted Ivanov as saying. Last week, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he was confident Russia would make the reduction but that U.S. officials want greater access to information about its nuclear weapons programs. He said Russia has a "very secretive approach to a great deal of things." Ivanov said the criticism was unwarranted. Bolton was due to leave Russia on Thursday after meetings with Mamedov and other officials, including Nuclear Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev. Abraham, who was planning three days of talks, was to meet with Rumyantsev on Wednesday. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said Abraham's talks would focus on preparations for a Russian fuel and energy summit to be held in Houston in October, according to Interfax. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 4 US may put Iranian nuclear plant on hit list - smh.com.au By Dana Priest in Washington July 30 2002 A nuclear power plant being built in Iran has emerged as a potential test of the Bush Administration's doctrine of pre-empting threats to United States security. President George Bush has labelled Iran a part of the "axis of evil", and some of his defence officials argue that a nuclear plant at Bushehr, on the country's Persian Gulf coast, should be destroyed before it receives its first load of nuclear fuel from Russia, which is helping to build it. "There is some support for pre-emption within the Administration," said Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East expert. Iran is a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have visited the Bushehr site. Although a pre-emptive strike appears to be supported by only a minority in the Administration, Israel has suggested it will not allow the plant to open. "Does Israel have a military option? The answer is yes," said a Washington official familiar with the Israeli position. On June 7, 1981, Israeli F-15s and F-16s destroyed the French-built Osirak light-water nuclear reactor near Baghdad. The attack was criticised by the US at the time but is now regarded by US policymakers as a milestone in efforts to stop Iraq's President Saddam Hussein from getting nuclear weapons. In recent weeks Israel has publicly warned Iran that it considers the Bushehr plant, which Germany began building in 1974 and Iraq bombed three times in the mid-1980s during the Iran-Iraq war, a threat to its national security. Last month the Hebrew daily Ha'aretz reported that Israel's National Security Council was reviewing its policy on Iran and quoted one official as saying "that everything must be done, including using force to prevent Tehran from achieving nuclear weapons capabilities". The Bushehr plant is scheduled to be completed in 16 months and operational 18 months later. Iran says the 1000-megawatt light-water reactor is for peaceful energy only. Concern about the Bushehr plant follows tough jail sentences passed on a group of dissidents at the weekend. The feared Revolutionary Court sentenced more than 30 liberal Islamists to up to 10 years' jail after they were convicted of seeking to overthrow the Islamic system. On the same charge the court banned the Iran Freedom Movement, the country's main non-violent opposition group, which advocates greater freedom and democracy. The moves topped a two-year conservative clampdown on reformists and intellectuals loosely grouped around President Mohammad Khatami. Although reformers in Iran have won most elections in the past years and control the government and parliament, they lack the power to implement their mandate for reforms. The armed forces, security apparatus and judiciary are in the hands of conservatives willing to force rivals into submission. The few opposition groups tolerated by the Islamic republic fear they will be the next target after the Freedom Movement is removed. The New York Times and agencies Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 5 Iran May Soon Have The Bomb – With Russian Help [NewsMax.com] Iran May Soon Have The Bomb – With Russian Help NewsMax Staff Monday, July 29, 2002 Iran may be a dangerous member of the axis of evil, but to Russia it's just another lucrative trading partner anxious to buy nuclear fuel cycle technologies – including light-water research reactors, fuel fabrication facilities and a uranium-enrichment centrifuge plant that would enable the rogue state to produce enriched uranium, according to a report in the New York Times. Obvious U.S. concerns aside, Russia released plans late last week to not only broadly cooperate with Iran in the fields of energy, industry, science, technology and trade, but also to build a new nuclear power plant in the western part of that country. The draft of a 10-year program of collaboration with Iran includes plans to build a plant in Ahvaz, in addition to completing a power station under construction in Bushehr. The Russians are also slated to construct a second nuclear plant in Bushehr, a southern Iranian city. Altogether, the draft plan has the Russians supplying Iran with six nuclear reactors, four in Bushehr and two in Ahvaz. Word of the unsettling plan came on the heels of Deputy Defense Minister Mikhail Dmitriyev's affirmation that Russia would sell conventional defensive weapons to Iran. Sensitive to U.S. feelings on the matter, Russia has often gone on record maintaining that it has a right to trade with Iran and that nothing in the bargain directly aids Iran in its quest for the bomb. Furthermore, according to the Times report, Russia has argued that Iran's nuclear energy projects are closely monitored by international teams and Iran is under an obligation to return any spent fuel from the reactors to Russia. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the International Affairs Committee of the lower house of Russia's parliament, said, "There are certain lines that Russia won't cross in its cooperation with countries like Iran." Not Much Solace to the U.S. But these assurances have done little to assuage U.S. angst. In a recent paper, Robert Einhorn, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned that Iran was hard at work to establish a nuclear weapons program immune to international pressure or logistics problems. "Within the next few years Iran could reach the point of no return, a point after which it could succeed in achieving nuclear and long-range missile capabilities without further foreign assistance," Einhorn wrote in the paper, a joint project with Gary Samore, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow recently warned Russia about trading with the axis of evil. "Russia has to avoid letting its desire for commercial gain end up hastening the day that these countries can pose a real weapons-of-mass-destruction threat," Vershbow said last week during a visit to the Moscow School of Political Studies. Regardless of how the plan worries the U.S., Russian Prime Minister Mikhail M. Kasyanov last week ordered the concerned government departments to accelerate the finalization of the draft plans. All Rights Reserved © NewsMax.com ***************************************************************** 6 U.S. Team To Press Moscow on Iran Issues (washingtonpost.com) Wider Nuclear Plan Complicates Mission By Peter Baker Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, July 30, 2002; Page A11 MOSCOW, July 29 -- Angered by Russian plans to expand nuclear cooperation with Iran, the White House dispatched a high-level delegation to Moscow today to push Russian officials to reverse course and cut off assistance that could bolster Tehran's military capability. The U.S. representatives, whose visit was previously scheduled, plan to deliver a list of actions they want the Russians to take, such as curtailing the exchange of scientists who work on weapons development, blocking the sale of technology with both civilian and military uses and tightening export controls, according to a senior Bush administration official. The Russian government on Friday outlined plans to build five more civilian nuclear reactors in Iran despite U.S. objections. The continuing construction of a single reactor at Bushehr has been a flash point in U.S.-Russian relations for years. The release of the 10-year plan for additional reactors, as the U.S. officials were preparing to leave for Moscow, caught President Bush and his foreign policy advisers off guard. "It's fair to say the White House was infuriated by that and extremely surprised," said the official, who asked not to be identified. "What we were told was: It's a draft and it's not done." Bush has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin several times in recent weeks about Iran, but it has emerged as one issue on which the two have been unable to resolve their differences despite the close political friendship they have developed since Sept. 11. Bush has left private talks with the impression that Putin had given him assurances about restricting cooperation with Iran. Putin's public words and actions, however, have belied any such guarantees. The U.S. delegation arriving Tuesday originally intended to explore that divergence, but now faces a potentially tougher reception. For Russia, Iran remains a significant customer; the Bushehr reactor will bring in $800 million. Putin and his aides have insisted that Russia provides Iran nuclear assistance strictly for civilian purposes and have defended arms sales as legitimate trade with a country that has a right to defend itself. The U.S. officials arriving this week, including Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, plan to argue that, ultimately, Russia stands to gain more economically by strengthening ties with the United States. The Russian document released Friday and approved by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov envisions broadening relations with Iran on a number of economic, cultural and military fronts. © 2002 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 7 U.S. quiet on Russia-Iran nuclear project AFP - 7/30/2002 WASHINGTON - The United States on Monday offered a conspicuously moderate reaction to Russia's announcement that it intended to build a second nuclear power plant in Iran, despite U.S. criticism of an existing project. The announcement on Friday was followed by a Washington Post report on Monday which said that there was debate in Washington and Israel over whether the first plant, at Bushehr, should be allowed to become operational. "We have made our concerns very publicly known, we share other non-public information in private, as to why we think this is a bad idea for Russia, as well," a State Department official said on condition of anonymity. "It is not in their (Russia's) security interests to have Iran developing a program." The official said that Under Secretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham left Washington on Monday for previously scheduled nonproliferation talks in Russia. "We'll hear from them in these talks. It is something that will clearly be discussed," said the official. Russia intends to build all four reactors at the southern Bushehr plant -- only one has been completed so far -- along with two more 1,000-megawatt blocks in Ahvaz, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Iraqi border. A copy of the document obtained by AFP states that Russia wants to "develop a long-term program of cooperation in the sphere of peaceful use of atomic energy" with Iran. But some analysts saw Friday's announcement as a bid by Moscow to up the stakes and win new Western concessions for ending its nuclear relations with a nation identified as a member of an "axis of evil" by Washington. Both the United States and Israel fear that Russian-Iranian nuclear cooperation could enable Tehran to acquire the technology needed to build nuclear weapons. During a summit in Moscow in May, U.S. President George W. Bush raised Washington's concerns about Russian nuclear aid to Iran, expressing fears that Tehran's "radical clerics" could put the technology to ill use. The Washington Post said Monday that as the Bushehr plant moves closer to completion, it will pose as a potential test case of the Bush administration's new doctrine of pre-empting threats to U.S. national security with military action. © Copyright 2002 AFP ***************************************************************** 8 Iran warns of any attack on its nuclear installations Xinhuanet 2002-07-30 16:30:03 TEHRAN, July 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran will definitely respond to any attack on its nuclear installations, the English-language newspaper Tehran Times said in a commentary on Tuesday. The commentary was referring to a report in the Washington Post on Monday that said Israel and the United States are concerned about Iran's nuclear power plant in Bushehr in the southern part ofthe country. The report also said some circles in Tel Aviv and Washington even advocate a preemptive attack to prevent the plant from becoming operational. "Iran's nuclear installations are regularly inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose inspectors have time and again reported that Iran's installations are meant for peaceful purposes," the commentary said. "Iran is not the only country in the world with a nuclear power plant. There are many other countries which have nuclear power plants, yet no other countries have protested against them," the commentary said. There are 438 nuclear power reactors currently operating in the world that produce 353,000 megawatts of energy, accounting for some16 percent of the world's total energy production. The Bushehr nuclear power plant is under construction with the help of Russian expertise and technology, and it is due to start operation next year after the first phase of the construction is completed. "Iran will definitely not sit by idly if its nuclear installations are attacked. Iran will take any measures it sees fitin such an event. It is a matter of national pride and security," the commentary concluded. Enditem Copyright © 2000 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 Iran's N-plant gets on US nerves -DAWN - International; 30 July, 2002 By Dana Priest WASHINGTON: For the past seven years, US and Israeli spy satellites have swept regularly over Iran's Persian Gulf coast, snapping pictures of Russian and Iranian construction crews building a nuclear power plant at Bushehr. This year, the satellites beamed back images of a round reactor dome, cooling pipes, pumping equipment and what some intelligence analysts believe to be anti-aircraft missile battery sites. Bushehr has become the subject of debate in Washington and Tel Aviv over whether the plant should be allowed to come on line as scheduled in the next two or three years. Part of the discussions involve pressuring Russia to voluntarily cease construction. But as the plant moves closer to completion, it also has emerged as a potential test case of the Bush administration's new doctrine of pre-empting threats to US national security. In the process, it has highlighted the complexities in executing a policy of pre-emption: What impact would a pre- emptive strike have on US relations with Moscow? What effect would eliminating a civilian nuclear power plant have on Iran's covert nuclear weapons development programme, which US intelligence says is ongoing at dozens of less-prominent sites throughout the country? And perhaps most significant, what would be the consequences of what Iran almost certainly would believe to be an act of war? Bush has labelled Iran a part of the "axis of evil," and some US defence officials argue Bushehr should be destroyed before it receives its first load of nuclear fuel from Russia. Iran is a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have visited the Bushehr construction site. Although a pre-emptive strike appears to be supported by only a minority in the administration and has not been discussed at the top levels of government, Israel has suggested it will not allow the plant to open. "Does Israel have a military option?" said a government official in Washington who is familiar with the Israeli position. "The answer is yes." On June 7, 1981, Israeli F-15s and F-16s destroyed the French- built Osirak light-water nuclear reactor near Baghdad. The attack was criticized by the United States at the time but is now regarded by many US policy-makers as a milestone in efforts to prevent Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from obtaining nuclear weapons. In recent weeks, Israel has publicly warned Iran that it considers the Bushehr plant - which Germany began building for Iran in 1974 and Iraq bombed three times in the mid-1980s during the Iran-Iraq war - a threat to its national security. There is some evidence, though not conclusive, that Iran is positioning anti-aircraft missile batteries around the plant and a nuclear research facility near Tehran, according to analysts who have looked at high-resolution satellite images of the sites. Last month, the Hebrew daily Haaretz reported that Israel's National Security Council was conducting an urgent review of its policy toward Iran and quoted one official as saying "that everything must be done, including, if necessary, using force to prevent Tehran from achieving nuclear weapons capabilities." The Bushehr plant, on Iran's southwestern coast, is set to be completed in 16 months and operational 18 months later. Iran, which is paying Russia $800 million for its assistance, says the 1,000-megawatt light-water reactor is for peaceful energy production only. Neither the technology nor the spent fuel from the Bushehr plant could, by itself, be used to make a nuclear bomb. But the same technology used in the plant is necessary to manufacture enriched fuel for nuclear weapons. Also, weapons-grade plutonium could be extracted from the spent fuel for a nuclear bomb. The CIA estimates Iran is seven years from having a nuclear bomb. Israeli intelligence estimates five years. Within the next few years, experts agree, Iran will have acquired enough know-how and technology to produce a long-range nuclear missile capability without further foreign assistance. The issue has recently emerged as a top priority in US- Russian relations, as the Bush administration has increased pressure on Moscow to voluntarily cease construction. The Russians have given no sign they will comply.-Dawn/The Washington Post News Service. © The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2002 ***************************************************************** 10 Russian nuclear reactor deal with Iran provokes US Times Online July 30, 2002 From Robin Shepherd in Moscow RUSSIA and the United States are heading for a row after the Russian Government said it would build five nuclear reactors in Iran, dismissing Western security concerns as “groundless”. On Friday the Government quietly published on its official website the plan to build a further five reactors without making any other comment. The plan, which is part of a broader ten-year economic co-operation project, envisages three more reactors at the Bushehr site and another two at a new power station at Akhvaz, about 65 miles from the Iraqi border. President Bush accuses the Islamic republic of sponsoring terrorism and has said that Iran, with Iraq and North Korea, forms part of an “axis of evil” which threatens America’s national security. He also warned the Russian Government in May that its nuclear links with Iran could help that country to develop nuclear weapons. US-Russian relations, which reached a high point after President Putin’s forthright support for United States operations in Afghanistan, have been severely tested since Russia began building a 1,000-megawatt reactor at the Iranian town of Bushehr on the Gulf. State Department officials have expressed concern and the Administration is likely to issue strong protests. The issue is expected to be formally raised by Spencer Abraham, the US Energy Secretary, who arrives in Moscow for talks this week. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mikhail Kasyanov, Prime Minister of Russia, said yesterday that the project should not be a matter of concern to the West because it could not help Iran to develop weapons of mass destruction. “We are only talking about peaceful, economic co-operation, with no connection to the military. It can offer no help to Iran in making nuclear weapons,” Alexei Gorshkov, the Prime Minister’s spokesman, said. “The fears of our Western friends and partners are groundless.” He also confirmed that Mr Kasyanov had personally approved the project. The latest plans appear to contradict statements made in the past by the Russian Atomic Energy Minister, who has said that nuclear co-operation with Iran would probably end with the Bushehr project. Russian and Iranian officials are due to sign the new deal at a meeting in Iran in September. If the plans do come to fruition, they would be a blow to American efforts to stifle Iran’s nuclear programme and would almost certainly sour US-Russian relations. As recently as July 9 Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, said the United States and Russia were making progress on the Iran-Russia nuclear issue. American fears have been echoed by Israel, which in 1981 sent jets to destroy a nuclear reactor near Baghdad. Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel, predicted recently that Iran would be a nuclear power by 2005. The head of Israel’s intelligence service said last month that Iran posed the most serious threat to the stability of the Middle East and that the country was investing large amounts of money in long-range missile construction. At about the same time, Haaretz, the liberal Israeli newspaper, reported that Israel’s National Security Council was conducting a review of its policy towards Iran. Some Israeli officials would favour military action to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons, perhaps along the lines of the 1981 attack. DEBATE Should Britain resist the expansion of nuclear power in Iran? Email your views to debate@thetimes.co.uk

[debate@thetimes.co.uk] Copyright 2002 [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,549,00.html] Times Newspapers Ltd. ***************************************************************** 11 NRC Staff to Meet with TVA to Discuss Restart of Unit 1 at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant NRC: Press Release Region II - 2002 - 41 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 www.nrc.gov No. II-02-041 July 30, 2002 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416 Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov [opa2@nrc.gov] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with Tennessee Valley Authority officials on Wednesday, August 7, to discuss the Browns Ferry Unit 1 Restart Project. The meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. EDT in the NRC Region II office, Sam Nunn Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street in Atlanta. The Browns Ferry plant is located near Athens, Alabama, and all three units at the plant were shut down by TVA in 1985. After NRC approval, TVA returned Unit 2 to service in 1991 and Unit 3 in 1996. Unit 1 has remained shut down since 1985 and the NRC will review its readiness to operate again after TVA completes the activities needed for restart. The August 7th meeting, involving NRC and TVA management, will focus on general TVA plans to complete the work necessary to restart the unit and the NRC role in inspecting those activities. That management meeting will be followed by a working level meeting between TVA and NRC staff to discuss coordination of NRC inspections with the TVA restart activities. Both meetings are between the NRC and TVA but are open to observation by interested members of the public. NRC officials will also be available prior to the conclusion of both meetings to answer any questions observers may have. ***************************************************************** 12 UK: Ipswich, has shown how easy it could be for terrorists to attack a nuclear power station from the air: Regional Journalism in the UK on the Internet. www.HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk The Evening Star, Star uncovers nuclear security danger Ipswich, has managed to breach the air exclusion zone over the power stations at Sizewell in Suffolk. An investigation by the paper has shown how easy it could be for terrorists to attack a nuclear power station from the air. The Evening Star flew through the one-and-half mile air exclusion zone in an aircraft loaded with what could have been high explosive and flew within 750ft of the power stations. The paper's findings have now been passed on to energy minister Brian Wilson. Posing as an aerial photographer, Evening Star photographer Richard Snasdell was able to hire a light aircraft from an East Anglian airport without any questions being asked. To demonstrate how easy it would have been to smuggle explosives on board, Richard carried with him a bag full of sugar, which would have been big enough to contain seven kilos of the high explosive, Semtex. Richard said: "I didn't have to give any identification and the booking was made by telephone. "I didn't ask specifically to fly over it. We had booked a flight to photograph coastal landmarks. "There was no specific warnings or any indication of what we were doing was wrong." The Star's revelations follow the conclusions of MPs who last week said the country was ill-prepared to deal with a terrorist attack of September 11 proportions. "mailto:pastill@nep.co.uk?subject=news story">pastill@nep.co.uk [http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/jobs/jobsnav.shtml] ***************************************************************** 13 Regulators cite problem at Oconee Nuclear Station AP Wire | 07/30/2002 | [http://www.thestate.com] GREENVILLE, S.C. - Operators of the Oconee Nuclear Station did not correct a safety violation that could damage the reactor's cooling system six years after the problem was discovered, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says. "This was an issue that was self-identified and corrective actions were taken in November of 2000," said Dayle Stewart, a spokeswoman for Duke Power facility said. The commission and Duke Power say the problem was minor. It involved a high-pressure service water system line in the fire protection system in Oconee's Unit 1 and posed no danger to the public or property outside the plant, said Binoy Desai, acting branch chief overseeing Duke plants for the commission. Under a worst case scenario, "If the high pressure service water system was to flood the building and disable safety equipment, a secondary or backup system would come into play and provide cooling water to the reactor coolant pump seals," Stewart said. About TheState.com ***************************************************************** 14 A Reinvigorating Visit For Belarus Children (washingtonpost.com) Youths Escape Ills of Life After Chernobyl By Miya Wiseman Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, July 28, 2002; Page PW15 Deborah Wells wasn't sure what to expect when she and her husband agreed to host a child from Belarus three years ago. "I was a little nervous," she said. "I'd taken a bit of Russian in college but not nearly enough to be able to speak it fluently." Wells, then 40 and teaching a Bible study class at Alexandria's Old Presbyterian Meeting House, had heard about a program in which several Northern Virginia churches hosted children from Belarus for six weeks during the summer. She and her husband decided to participate, but she was still anxious. Her fears were put to rest as soon as she met Vitaly Klimenka, a shy 11-year-old with an affinity for mechanical gadgets and Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. "He was very shy using his English," Wells said. Often, Wells called one of the children's chaperons to interpret. But Vitaly quickly adjusted and soon became part of the family. Now 14, he needs no help with English while visiting the Wells's home. In three summers with them, he has learned to speak the language almost fluently. During his visits, he swims, goes bowling and ice skates with the couple's 14-year-old son, Brian. He has also developed a passion for hot dogs and Cocoa Puffs. Such things are hard to come by in Belarus, a country about the size of Kansas that is home to about 10 million people. In 1986, when the Chernobyl nuclear plant, just across the border in Ukraine, exploded, Belarus received about 70 percent of the radioactive fallout. As a result, doctors have seen a significant increase in medical problems in children and adults in the area. The most common problems include thyroid cancer, leukemia and hemophilia. Many children also suffer from respiratory problems and vitamin deficiencies. In 1992, Joe Bailey, a member of Christ Church in Alexandria, decided to bring children from Belarus to the United States for six weeks during the summer. Other area churches joined in. Now the program is sponsored by Alexandria's Christ Church, the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, Emmanuel Episcopal Church and St. John's Lutheran Church; Annandale's United Methodist Church; Christ United Methodist Church in Fairfax and Fairfax Presbyterian; and Abingdon Episcopal Church in Gloucester County, Va. Bailey died last year, but the program continues to grow. It has served more than 300 children in 10 years. This year, 66 children participated. Alexandria lawyer Leonard Fleisig, his wife and 11-year-old daughter have hosted three children in three years. Fleisig, who now organizes the program, had an advantage over other families in that he had taken four years of Russian in high school, but he still encountered language difficulties when he hosted two young girls the first year. "I thought I was calling them 'pretty,' " he said. After consulting with the translator, he discovered he had referred to them as "red girls." "They probably thought it was a political thing," he said, chuckling. That translator was Olga Nijivinskaia, who is an English teacher from Minsk, the Belarusan capital, and one of five chaperons who accompanied the children this summer. Chaperons' duties include visiting with host families, helping with translation and accompanying children on dental visits. At 24, Nijivinskaia is much younger than her colleagues. She was recommended four years ago by another chaperon, who taught at the Linguistic University in Minsk, where Nijivinskaia was a student. "They were a little apprehensive about hiring such a young chaperon," she said. "But I think it's a good thing. I can relate to the kids, especially the young girls." Many of the visiting children are girls just entering puberty, and Nijivinskaia has been particularly helpful when the girls might not feel comfortable confiding in older, or male, chaperons and hosts. Nijivinskaia's age was also a surprise to her host, Dale Beeby, when she arrived four years ago. "The first chaperon I hosted was a 45-year-old woman, so when Olga arrived I was surprised, but she's been nothing but responsible," she said. Beeby was so impressed that she has invited Nijivinskaia to stay with her every summer she has visited. As a gift, Beeby paid for both of Nijivinskaia's parents to accompany her this summer. Although Nijivinskaia is from one of the most economically advantaged areas of Belarus, she is astounded by the cost of things in the United States. "We had to pay $20 for parking in Washington, D.C., one evening," she said. "The average salary of these children's parents is $60 a month." Most of the visiting children come from rural areas. According to Bahar Rowhani, an Alexandria dentist who provides free care to many of the visiting children, most of them have good eating habits but many develop cavities and abscesses because water back home lacks fluoride. But she is careful not to upset the children on their first visit to her office. "We don't pull teeth on first visits," she said. "We don't want to traumatize the kids, so we usually start with a cleaning and X-rays." Although dental and health care are free in Belarus, the care is not as good as in the United States, Nijivinskaia said. "You are limited to a 20-minute visit," she said. "You can't fill four cavities in 20 minutes." Nijivinskaia said most of the children are terrified at their first U.S. dental visit because of painful experiences at home. "In Belarus, you only go to the dentist if it hurts," she said. "Here, it's more preventive." Nijivinskaia said she has noticed that the dental habits and general health of the children improve after their visits. "They benefit from the fresh air and the good soil," she said. Many of the visiting children develop strong ties with host families. Alexandrian Chris McMurry said his 11-year-old son, Johnny, and Maxim Belski, 11, get along "like brothers." Recently, the children and their host families attended a Washington Mystics game. Dressed in a blue T-shirt, shorts and sneakers, Maxim looked away from the basketball court only occasionally, his eyes focused on the game from a skybox donated by local businesses. "I play basketball at home in Belarus," he said. Maxim attends soccer camp with Johnny and attending sports events with the McMurray family. Although this is his fourth visit to the United States, he finds some of the rules hard to get used to. "I like Rollerblading, and I like riding my bicycle but I don't like having to wear a helmet," he said. Vitaly shares such sentiments. "I don't like wearing a seat belt in the back seat," he said. He does like being able to do things he can't do in Belarus, such as bowling and playing golf. He has abandoned soccer until he returns home since most of the children in Wells's neighborhood don't play it. Although he misses his mother and 7-year-old brother, he gets to call them every week. Vitaly also keeps in touch with his host family through e-mail when in Belarus. One of his favorite movies is "The Terminator," which he has seen, translated into Russian, many times. "The second one was better than the first," he said. Wells said he can often be heard walking around the house reciting one of the movie's best-known phrases: "I'll be back." © 2002 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 15 Bruce Power ready to restart two reactors LFP Local News: [Canoe: Canadian Online Explorer] [The London Free Press News] Tuesday, July 30, 2002 By DAVID DAUPHINEE, Free Press Reporter  With Ontario electricity use pushing record levels, Bruce Power plans to restart two dormant nuclear reactors ahead of schedule in a move expected to cut retail prices, company officials said yesterday. Two units of Bruce A could crank out power for next summer's power peaks, chief executive Duncan Hawthorne said yesterday. Restart requires hearings and approval of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, but Hawthorne said the agency has done everything it needs for a positive decision. The first reactor could be running by April and the second shortly afterwards, he said. There are no firm plans for the final two reactors which need substantial work. A spokesperson for Energy Probe could not be reached for comment. While Bruce Power can swallow a price drop from adding two reactors next year "we haven't really thought about whether the market could tolerate an additional 1,500 megawatts," he said. Ontario has benefited from private enterprise in the Bruce development, he said. "Bruce A was a shell until we came, with no tangible plans to restart it. We came along and put a lot of private sector cash and a lot of resource into it." But the effort hasn't been without higher than expected costs. Beefing up security since Sept. 11 and more work to ensure reliability has driven the tab to about $400 million compared to estimates of $340 million. The province deregulated electricity in May and an analysis by Energy Probe indicates those who shunned fixed-price electricity contracts have so far done better than those who signed up for one-, three-, or five-year periods. Bruce Power is a partnership of British Energy, uranium fuel supplier Cameco Corp. and two unions representing Bruce employees -- the Power Workers' Union and the Society of Energy Professionals. The firm has a lease to operate the complex for 18 years and renewal option for another 25 years. The province's electricity system has been under so much stress recently the agency operating the system has appealed to power users to curb unnecessary use from now through Thursday. Demand because of the hot weather was pushing the system to the limit Monday, with a peak load of close to 25,000 megawatts of power through the late afternoon, just below record levels. BRUCE NUCLEAR A nuclear power generating complex on Lake Huron north of Kincardine -- comprised of Bruce A and Bruce B, each with four CANDU reactors -- operated by Bruce Power and with the potential to generate a total of 3,200 megawatts of electricity, more than 10 per cent of Ontario's peak use. Bruce A: Four 750-megawatt reactors taken from service from 1995 to 1998. New private operator Bruce Power plans to return two units to service four months sooner than predicted. Bruce B: Four reactors functioning near 100 per cent. Copyright © 2002, The London Free Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 Taiwan: Plant workers angered by early-shutdown talk The Taipei Times Online: 2002-07-30 Tuesday, July 30th, 2002 Around a hundred workers from the nation's nuclear power plants yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan against proposed plans to close down the nation's three active nuclear plants years ahead of schedule. PHOTO: LIAO CHENG-HUEI, LIBERTY TIMES DESPERATE FOR JOBS: Workers at the nation's nuclear plants say it will be much cheaper to keep the first three plants going until their original date of decommissioning By Chiu Yu-Tzu STAFF REPORTER Following a draft proposal to bring forward the dates on which the nation's active nuclear power plants will be decommissioned, workers from Taiwan Power Company (Taipower, ¥x¹q) said yesterday that they would do their best to resist the plan in order to protect their right to employment. On July 22, a Chinese-language media report said the First Nuclear Power Plant would be taken off-line by 2004, 14 years before its 40-year lifespan was scheduled to come to an end. But Taipower officials refuted the report last week by saying that, so far, no timetable had been set for decommissioning the nation's three operating nuclear power plants. More than 100 of the state-run company's workers, however, protested against any such possible moves in front of the Legislative Yuan yesterday. Later, at a public hearing held by two PFP lawmakers, Lin Hui-kuan (ªL´f©x) and Yin Nai-ping (®ï¤D¥­), workers from the nuclear plant demanded a clear promise from the management of Taipower that their jobs will be protected. "The salaries of 530 workers at the First Nuclear Power Plant would be directly affected if the proposed legislation goes through," said Wu Cheng-tai (§d®¶¥x), director-general of Taipower's labor union of 2,700 members. Wu added that, from an economic vantage point, the plant is now only 24 years old and to close it down 14 years ahead of schedule doesn't make economic sense. "Decommissioning the plant 14 years too soon is a waste of taxpayers' money," he said. Wu said that the plant is currently actually making money for the state-owned power supplier. According to him, the cost of each unit of electricity generated by the plant is "only NT$0.4858, far less than the NT$1.92 of fuel-generated electricity and the NT$2.75 of natural-gas generated electricity." Wu argued that if the nation replaces the First Nuclear Power Plant with power plants that burn natural gas, "each year the cost would be NT$20 billion more" than if the plant was allowed to complete its expected life span. According to Wu's calculations, the total financial loss caused by retiring the nuclear plant 14 years earlier would be about NT$300 billion. He did not include in his calculations the cost of storing radioactive nuclear waste, nor the cost of medical treatment in the case of eventual radiation leakage into ground water and sea water. Representatives of the labor union said that decommissioning nuclear plants earlier is an irresponsible idea because, technologically speaking, Taiwan's ability to carry out the decommissioning process is not well-developed. "For example, where do we put the radioactive waste that is currently stored at the plant?" Wu said. Taipower Vice President Tsai Mao-tsun (½²­Z§ø), however, said workers should not overreact because the draft bill is still far from going through. The idea of retiring the plants early was first raised in February last year, when the Cabinet announced it was reversing an earlier decision to halt construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. At that time, the Cabinet said it would decommission all of the first three nuclear power plants seven years earlier -- in 2011, 2014 and 2017, respectively. But the Cabinet's latest proposal wants the timetable moved up to 2004, 2008 and 2011, respectively. The labor union's Wu told the Taipei Times that, if the proposal is accepted, more than 1,700 workers from the three active nuclear plants would be mobilized by the union to protest for their right to work. PFP lawmaker Lin said that he is on the workers' side and urged Taipower to safeguard the workers' jobs. Lin added that he and some of his colleagues would demand a special report from the Cabinet on its mid-term, middle-term, and long-term energy policies for adjusting to the phasing-out of nuclear power. This story has been viewed 213 times. URL=[http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/07/30/story/0000158270] Copyright © 1999-2002 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 17 Radioactive Bilberries Removed From Moscow Markets July 30, 2002 [TehranTimes Navigation] MOSCOW -- Health experts removed more than 200 kilograms (450 pounds) of radioactive bilberries from marketplaces scattered around Moscow, officials said Friday. The contaminated fruit, said to have been brought in from areas of western Russia, Ukraine and Belarus affected by fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, were being sold at 10 markets around the city and at Balashikha just outside Moscow, the officials said, as quoted by the Interfax news agency. A 100 kilogram batch of the berries, contaminated by Caesium-137, were seized at the Kuntsevo market in northern Moscow. A total of 669 kilograms of contaminated bilberries have been confiscated since June 18, AFP quoted the officials as saying. Large areas of northern Ukraine, western Russia and Belarus were contaminated after the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster in which the explosion of a nuclear reactor spewed a radioactive cloud over much of Eastern, and parts of Western, Europe. Between 15,000 and 30,000 people are reported to have died since as a direct or indirect result of the disaster, and the United Nations estimates that nearly six million people continue to live in contaminated areas. [http://www.tehrantimes.com ***************************************************************** 18 NRC Cites Oconee Nuclear Plant For Violation of Low to Moderate Safety Significance NRC: Press Release Region II - 2002 - 40 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 www.nrc.gov No. II-02-040 July 29, 2002 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416 Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov [opa2@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has determined that a violation of NRC safety regulations at Unit 1 of the Duke Energy's Oconee nuclear power plant near Seneca, South Carolina, should be characterized as "white," meaning that it is of low to moderate importance to safety. An NRC inspection completed on March 12 of this year identified a violation of NRC requirements. From approximately December of 1995 until April of 2001, a problem in the plant's High Pressure Service Water System was not promptly corrected following identification by the company. The High Pressure Service Water System in the Unit 1 auxiliary building was filled and pressurized with water instead of being in a dry condition. The NRC said a rupture of the HPSW line in the auxiliary building would cause flooding and could disable safety equipment due to a lack of mitigation capabilities. The NRC said the HPSW system is constructed of metal, uses untreated lake water and has shown signs of corrosion. Under its safety significance determination process, NRC officials classify certain conditions at nuclear power plants as being one of four colors which delineate increasing levels of safety significance, progressing from green to white to yellow to red. The NRC staff in an inspection report dated April 30, 2001, documented the finding and assessed it under the significance determination process as a preliminary "white" issue. An open regulatory conference was conducted at Duke Energy Corporation's request on June 27 of this year, and Duke was notified of the agency's final significance determination in a letter dated July 26. In addition to the "white" determination, the NRC issued a Notice of Violation to Duke for failing to take timely corrective action. NRC officials have concluded that recent corrective actions that have been taken and those planned to correct the violation and to prevent recurrence are adequate. Additional details on the "white" finding are available in a letter and Notice of Violation from the NRC to Duke Energy dated July 26, 2002, which can be obtained from the NRC Region II public affairs office at the above address, or from the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room on the agency's Internet Web Site at: www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in using the Public Reading Room is available by contacting the NRC Public Document Room at 301/415-4737 or 1/800/397-4209. ***************************************************************** 19 Radioactive Bilberries Removed From Moscow Markets * *July 30, 2002* News Content TehranTimes MOSCOW -- Health experts removed more than 200 kilograms (450 pounds) of radioactive bilberries from marketplaces scattered around Moscow, officials said Friday. The contaminated fruit, said to have been brought in from areas of western Russia, Ukraine and Belarus affected by fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, were being sold at 10 markets around the city and at Balashikha just outside Moscow, the officials said, as quoted by the Interfax news agency. A 100 kilogram batch of the berries, contaminated by Caesium-137, were seized at the Kuntsevo market in northern Moscow. A total of 669 kilograms of contaminated bilberries have been confiscated since June 18, AFP quoted the officials as saying. Large areas of northern Ukraine, western Russia and Belarus were contaminated after the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster in which the explosion of a nuclear reactor spewed a radioactive cloud over much of Eastern, and parts of Western, Europe. Between 15,000 and 30,000 people are reported to have died since as a direct or indirect result of the disaster, and the United Nations estimates that nearly six million people continue to live in contaminated areas. WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department plans to "jump start" plans for transporting high-level nuclear waste to Nevada in order to open Yucca Mountain by 2010, the project's top administrator said today. Now that Congress has approved Yucca Mountain, the department is working feverishly to keep its ambitious plans to obtain a construction license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by 2007, Yucca chief Margaret Chu told a National Academy of Sciences panel. Chu outlined an "extremely tight" schedule that would allow the project to open by its 2010 target date for completion. Chu's plans include playing "catch up" in an effort to prepare for a massive waste-shipping campaign, she said. The department must identify the exact routes to be used, prepare state and local emergency response teams and construct a $900 million rail line to Yucca in Nevada within eight years, Chu said. Chu said the department soon will formally state a preference for shipping most of the waste by rail, as opposed to trucks, because it would involve far fewer shipments. Chu also said the department plans to construct the rail line in Nevada "as soon as possible," over Nevada's objections. Chu said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham next year would unveil a "National Transportation Plan" that will spur a national discussion about specific waste routes and emergency planning. Chu remains optimistic, despite critics who say the department will never meet its 2010 project deadline. The plan hinges on the department using a "modular" approach to constructing the dump in which the department begins shipping waste to Yucca before construction of the repository is complete. Waste would be stored on the surface and moved into the tunnels in "phases" as construction was completed. "Instead of building a whole house at one time, we build part of the house in order to begin receiving waste," Chu told the National Academy's Board on Radioactive Waste Management, which meets periodically to study waste issues, but which has no direct oversight over Yucca. For the first time, Chu publicly offered more detail on the phases, saying the department plans to ship 400 metric tons of waste to Yucca in 2010; 600 metric tons in 2011; and 1,200 metric tons in 2012. If construction begins in 2007, its unlikely the whole repository, which would hold 70,000 metric tons of waste, would be complete by 2010, many observers say. "It's very little time to build a whole repository if we are going to keep the 2010 date," Chu said. The department is undergoing a "cultural sea change" as it shifts its focus from two decades of scientific research at the site, to a licensing phase, Chu said. The department plans to apply for a construction license by 2004, and it could take the NRC three to four years to approve it. In other comments, Chu said she hopes to reduce the project's projected $56 to $58 billion budget, but offered few specifics besides re-evaluating the need for expensive, tent-like titanium "drip shields" designed to prevent water from corroding metal waste containers. Meanwhile the state of Nevada plans to vigorously pursue a five lawsuits it has filed designed to kill the project, Steve Frishman, technical policy coordinator for the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, told the Academy panel. The suits have been filed against the Energy Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Among the state's top objections is that the Energy Department plans to rely too heavily on the metal waste containers, rather than Yucca's natural geology, to isolate waste from the environment. The law calls for a geologic repository, Frishman said. "There are laws out there and agencies don't have the right to change the law," Frishman said. Judy Treichel, a long-time anti-Yucca activist from Nevada, told the panel, "The real focus (of the Energy Department) has been to make that site work. If the rules had to change, they were changed." All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 22 Reluctant SLC Council OKs Train Deal The Salt Lake Tribune -- Tuesday, July 30, 2002 BY HEATHER MAY Salt Lake City Council members weren't about to be the ones who derailed commuter train service for the entire valley. So despite their hesitancy to help out the Union Pacific railroad since it reactivated the 900 South line, they approved its request to build a freight yard that will eventually allow UTA to build heavy rail from Payson to Brigham City, along with several light-rail spurs. "I can't vote against this," said Councilman Dale Lambert during a special council session called Monday to vote on the proposal. "We have an opportunity to move ahead with commuter and light rail -- something this city and the Wasatch Front need." Only Van Turner rejected changes necessary to build the freight yard on about 300 acres of land at 5600 West and 700 South. "It's just been one blow after another," said the city's West Side representative. His constituents along 900 South contend with trains that roll by at all hours. They fear nuclear waste could be sent on those tracks as it makes its way to Nevada for permanent storage. And with the new freight yard, they believe even more trains will whiz by. The 900 South neighbors don't trust UP assurances that the trains heading to and from the freight yard won't travel on the track except during emergencies. The lines are not connected but are adjacent. Council members agreed that the 900 South line and the freight yard are separate issues, though they urged UP and the city administration to work to reduce train traffic on that line. "I don't believe we are sacrificing the 900 South neighborhood for commuter rail," said Councilwoman Jill Remington Love. Rather, council members sided with UTA general manager John Inglish, who reminded them their decision would affect not just city residents, but those living throughout the Wasatch Front. "It's the right thing to do," Inglish said following the meeting. "This is an unbelievable long-term asset for this community." However, UTA and UP still have to seal a $185 million deal to create commuter rail. UTA is trying to purchase right of way along existing UP tracks, as well as potential light-rail extensions into Utah County and throughout Salt Lake County. They couldn't close on the proposal until UP found a spot for a freight yard, needed to consolidate transfer stations now in Clearfield and North Salt Lake. The new hub will accommodate 12 trains a day, transferring consumer goods to and from 560 trucks. © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune ***************************************************************** 23 Utah Justices Agree to Decide Waste-Tax Backers' Suit The Salt Lake Tribune -- Tuesday, July 30, 2002 BY JUDY FAHYS Proponents of a waste-tax ballot initiative won the first round in their Utah Supreme Court fight to revive their campaign in time for this fall's election. Supreme Court justices ruled Monday they would step in and decide the proponents' lawsuit, which contends part of the state's initiative law is unconstitutional because it gives votes cast in rural Utah more weight than those cast in urban communities -- or at least it did in the case of the proposed Radioactive Waste Restrictions Act. The 4-1 ruling disappointed waste-tax initiative opponents, who insisted the case belonged in a lower court. It also set the stage for resolving the constitutional questions next month. "We are delighted the Supreme Court is going to take an even more thorough look at this," said initiative proponent Doug Foxley. "We are alive and well and hopeful." The citizens initiative would raise taxes on the low-radioactive waste that is already allowed in Utah and ban more potent nuclear waste. If approved by voters in the 2002 election, it would direct tax revenues from the hot waste to public school and homeless programs. Nearly 96,000 registered voters signed petitions to put the proposed waste-tax law on the ballot next fall. In the end, though, the state elections office deemed it could not appear on the ballot because it had too little support in rural counties, falling short by a total of 147 signatures in six counties. Opponents had urged thousands of rural-county petition signers to withdraw their names before the elections office count was final. Two aspects of Monday's ruling indicate that the justices are eager to hear the controversial case in time for the election: * They exercised some discretion in taking on a case that they were free to turn away. * They asked for written legal debate by Aug. 6 on why certain provisions of the state initiative law are, or are not, constitutional. State Appeals Court Judge William A. Thorne, filling in for one of two absent Supreme Court justices, issued a dissenting opinion. He said the case should first go through district court. "We are confident the [initiative] statute is constitutional and will be upheld," said Hugh Matheson, an organizer of the campaign to derail the initiative. © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune ***************************************************************** 24 Opposition criticises Fed Govt over handling of SA dump sites ABC Politics - 30/07/02 : [Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online] The Federal Opposition says the Federal Government is being cavalier in its response to environmental concerns over proposed radioactive waste dumps in South Australia. The Government last week released a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed dump sites which raised concerns that stray rockets from the Woomera launch site could hit the proposed dumps. But Federal Science Minister Peter McGauran says the risk of an accidental strike would be minimal because launches happen up to 10 years apart. Shadow environment minister, Kelvin Thompson, says there are numerous launches each year at Woomera, including one tomorrow. He says Mr McGauran's comments are worrying. "It's his obligation to know how frequent the launches are, what the risk from these launches into a waste dump would be," he said. "It's also his responsibility to be aware of local concerns, which in South Australia, are quite substantial." © 2002 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 25 EPA Scarboro sampling complete The Oak Ridger Online -- Area News -- Tuesday, July 30, 2002 by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff Results are in from the latest Scarboro neighborhood environmental sampling project, and no contamination due to Department of Energy activities was pinpointed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its findings July 18 to the Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations office, and noted that findings would be presented in a public forum later this summer. "I think this is the result we all expected," said Susan Gawarecki, executive director of the Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee. "The only things found were either pesticides one would find in a neighborhood setting Š and a few organic trace contaminants that are common to sampling activities. There was nothing found that could be attributed to reservation activities." Gawarecki noted her disappointment that the EPA hasn't publicized its findings. "People have a right to know that their neighborhood is safe," said Gawarecki. "It seems that the EPA only wants to talk about it if there's a problem." Officials with the EPA could not be reached for comment before this morning's deadline. The EPA took soil, water and sediment samples from around 10 locations in the Scarboro neighborhood during the week of Sept. 24, 2001. An earlier DOE and Florida A study, released in 1998, indicated the Scarboro neighborhood contained elevated levels of contaminants in the soil. Scarboro sits just across Pine Ridge from the Y-12 National Security Complex, a nuclear weapons production facility. The 1998 results showed consistently higher than normal levels of uranium 235 -- enriched uranium -- and uranium 238 in soil samples taken throughout the area that summer. The results also showed traces of mercury in some soil samples, and one randomly selected sample showed a high presence of lead, zinc and pesticides in the soil. Jon Johnston, chief of the Federal Facilities Branch for EPA's Region 4, has said that EPA's sampling should have been done about two years earlier. Residents in the neighborhood expressed concern prior to the study that the EPA has not pinpointed enough sampling areas. A July 18, 2002, letter from Constance Allison Jones, senior remedial project manager for EPA, to Andrea Perkins of the DOE's Oak Ridge Operations office, stated that "based on these results, EPA does not anticipate any further action regarding this matter." Jones said the report is being finalized and will be presented to the community in a public forum later this the summer. R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 26 Letter: Interesting to note votes on Yucca - Shirley Swafford YourView Tuesday, July 30, 2002 Now that Congress has formally agreed to a repository at Yucca Mountain, it's interesting to note the senators in the states who voted "No" -- California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, West Virginia. The senators in the states who were split on this issue were Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin. Senators Hatch and Bennett of Utah originally opposed storing the waste in Nevada until powerful lobbying occurred, offering them a deal they could not refuse -- you vote yes on Yucca Mountain and we won't store the nuclear waste in your state. History repeated itself since it was this type of political maneuvering that resulted in Nevada being selected as the only state to become the garbage dump of the country. Rumors have been spreading that this is a done deal and why not accept all the benefits. Think about what Congress and the Department of Energy will offer in exchange for all the benefits. Why wait for the completion of the tunnel in the ye¥ 2010? I can see the headlines in tomorrow's newspapers -- Shipments of high level nuclear waste will go forward beginning in the year 2003. Why wait for the completion of the tunnel? Why wait for a final Environ-mental Impact Statement? Why wait for licensing? Why worry about contaminated water? Why bother about the more than 200 discrepancies and the uncertainties outlined by the U.S. Technical Review Board? Think, too, about all that nuclear waste sitting on top of that mountain until the year 2010. SHIRLEY SWAFFORD Carson City [http://www.nevadaappeal.com] ***************************************************************** 27 UK: Next steps on managing radioactive waste announced [29 July 2002] Under the next phase of plans to manage radioactive waste, an independent body will be appointed to oversee a review of the options for managing the UK's growing stockpile. The UK now has over 10,000 tonnes of solid, long-lived radioactive waste in storage, awaiting a decision on its long-term future. This will rise to half a million tonnes over the next century as nuclear reactors and other facilities come to the end of their lives. However, it will take thousands of years it will take for the radioactivity to fall to safe levels. Announcing the plans, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett said: "We propose that the new body will be in place by the end of the year. We will be seeking people who will bring technical expertise and people who will bring a wider perspective of environmental, health, social or ethical issues." The review will: + set the framework for debate by establishing broad agreement on the wastes to be considered, the range of management options for each of them, and the criteria against which these options should be assessed; + assess each option including commissioning any new research required; and + draw up recommendations for Ministers to consider. The Secretary of State said: "Our priority is to reach the decision which achieves long-term protection of people and the environment, which inspires public confidence, and which is practicable." Mrs Beckett added that more detailed proposals would be published over the summer and autumn, on these and other issues raised in the consultation paper. Extra info... Setting up the new body is a further step in the government programme for managing radioactive waste, most of which is part of the 'nuclear legacy '. Visit the Radioactive waste management pages [http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/radioactivity/waste/] of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs website for more information. ***************************************************************** 28 AU: MP to consult Hill over nuclear waste concerns 30/7/2002. ABC News Online [Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online] South Australian Liberal MP Barry Wakelin says he will ask Federal Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill about warnings from the Defence Department on storing nuclear waste at Woomera, in the state's north. Late last week an environmental impact statement into three proposed waste storage sites in the state's north was released. It highlighted a small risk of a missile from the Woomera launch site hitting the nuclear repository. The federal Member for Grey says nobody from the Defence Department has contacted him with concerns. "As far as the Defence Department goes, well, I don't take that much notice of officials within the Defence Department, but I will be interested to hear what the Minister has to say," he said. "As far as the low level radioactive waste [is concerned], we have to store it responsibly. "We have had waste hanging around for some 50 years now, it's been sitting up there. Labor dumped it up there in Woomera 10 years ago - it's time to make a decision and store it responsibly." © 2002 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 29 Incentive scheme planned for nuclear dumps Scotsman.com Tue 30 Jul 2002 /HAMISH MACDONELL/ COMMUNITIES could be offered incentives in an attempt to get them to agree to allow nuclear waste dumps to be sited in their neighbourhoods, it emerged last night. The Scottish Executive is to create a quango which will find the best way of disposing of Britain?s increasing stock of nuclear waste. The new body will be set up by the end of the year and while it will not make decisions on the siting of radioactive waste, it will be responsible for setting out the criteria for new nuclear dumps. Ministers confirmed it will consider whether local residents should be offered incentives to accept a radioactive dump and whether they should be given a veto, giving them the power to refuse to allow dumps to be dug in their neighbourhood. The Executive and the Westminster government are both clearly worried they will not receive the go-ahead to create any new dumps for nuclear fuel if local communities have the final say. Ministers know that the strength of opposition in every part of the country will be so overwhelming they will not be able to proceed unless they offer to compensate local residents or prevent them from having a veto. The idea of the new body is to take these decisions away from the government, handing them over to appointees chosen from all over the country and from different walks of life. No-one from the Executive was available last night to give any more details of the incentive scheme. The announcement was made in a Scottish Parliament written reply by Allan Wilson, the deputy environment minister. He said the new body would work out what to do with spent fuel from nuclear power stations. Mr Wilson said: "We propose that the new body will be in place by the end of the year. "We will advertise widely for the members of this new body and they will be appointed jointly by ministers from the UK government and the devolved administrations." He added: "Our priority is to reach the decision which achieves long-term protection of people and the environment, which inspires public confidence, and which is practicable." Mr Wilson added that the priority was to make sure that radioactive waste was managed properly. He said: "We need to recognise that the assessment of some options will raise siting issues - including, as some consultees have suggested, whether local communities should have a veto or be encouraged to volunteer, and whether they should be offered incentives. It is important to ensure that we are clear and open when drawing up any criteria which might eventually be needed to identify sites in the option assessment process, and the issues which they raise." Mr Wilson said that the Executive would publish more detailed proposals later this year. The minister said the new body would also consider the possibility of re-using the UK?s civil plutonium as fuel, but that would depend on how much of it was contaminated. WEBCAMS ©2002 scotsman.com ***************************************************************** 30 AU: Govt accused of double standards on nuclear waste* www.yourguide.com.au Alan Parkinson: approach ill-considered, irresponsible. By CATRIONA JACKSON Australia's disposal of radioactive waste is "ill-considered and irresponsible" with double standards marring the Federal Government's approach, according to Canberra nuclear engineer Alan Parkinson. Writing in / Australasia Science, / he said the Government had a history of applying double standards and that some low-level waste was being disposed of carefully while medium-level plutonium had been buried in shallow pits at Maralinga and left to blow around. There was no consistency, and little evidence of logic, in the way nuclear waste was being handled. In 1993 Mr Parkinson was appointed as both a government adviser to the Maralinga clean-up and a member of the Maralinga Rehabilitation Technical Advisory Committee. In 1994, he was appointed the government's representative to oversee the clean-up. However, after criticising the management of the clean-up in 1997, he was removed from the project. "There was no study to find a proper site for disposal of the Maralinga debris and no call for a site with suitable geology," he said. "The disposal trenches at Maralinga are only 15m deep in limestone and dolomite strata, exhibiting many cracks and fissures. This geology is totally unsuitable." The double standard between disposal on Aboriginal land and elsewhere was clear when looking to the new standards for waste disposal at the national repository that was in the early stages of construction in South Australia. At the new site the short-lived radioactive material would be packaged in drums, placed on a solid foundation in a trench up to 20m deep and covered by several layers of impervious materials An "appropriate authority" would impose an "institutional control period" of 200 to 300 years, after which the waste would have decayed to safe levels and no further control would be necessary. The plutonium waste at Maralinga had a half-life of 24,000 years and would not decay to "safe" levels in anywhere near 200 to 300 years. But it had not been disposed of nearly so carefully. "The plutonium-contaminated debris at Maralinga was not packaged; it was simply dropped into a bare hole in the ground and covered. It is not on a compacted base and is not covered by several impervious layers," he said. "Surely if short-lived waste needs to be packaged for disposal at a carefully selected site, so too does the long-lived Maralinga debris. "The Government's actions don't lend confidence to how they will dispose of waste from the replacement reactor being constructed at Lucas Heights." ***************************************************************** 31 Nebraska: Role of Nelson colleague scrutinized at waste trial Omaha.com July 30, 2002 *BY ROBYNN TYSVER* WORLD-HERALD BUREAU LINCOLN - A former law partner and political contributor of then-Gov. Ben Nelson's played a key role in the state's low-level nuclear waste controversy. The question is, did Omaha attorney William Lamson Jr.'s participation in the process cross the "bright line" between regulators and politicians? Did he work for Nelson at the same time he worked with state regulators who were deciding the fate of a proposed waste facility in Boyd County? Those questions were raised Monday during Lamson's testimony in the trial over a low-level radioactive waste facility, which entered its ninth and final week. The witness phase of the trial is expected to end Friday. Lawyers then will have time to submit briefs, at the judge's request, on the pros and cons of appointing a special prosecutor to independently review the license. Closing arguments are set for Sept. 10. The lawsuit stems from Nebraska's denial of a license to a five-state compact to build a regional waste facility near Butte. The compact, of which Nebraska is a member, alleges that Nelson's administration denied the license on political grounds. The compact is suing to recoup the money, about $100 million, spent during an eight-year license process. The state counters that although Nelson opposed the facility on the campaign trail, he made it clear there should be a "bright line" between his administration and regulators. They also argue the license was rejected on scientific grounds. In an unusual step, the state waived its attorney-client privilege Monday to allow Lamson to discuss his legal role for the state during the license process. Lamson was a key player in the radioactive-waste process. He represented the state in numerous low-level waste lawsuits, working directly with the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health. He had worked with Nelson during the 1980s when both attorneys worked at the Kennedy, Holland, DeLacy and Svoboda law firm in Omaha. In fact, when Nelson left office in 1998, he return to work with Lamson in the firm of Lamson, Dugan & Murray. Nelson now serves as one of Nebraska's two U.S. senators. Lamson and his fellow law partners contributed to Nelson's political campaigns. Lamson did not know Monday exactly how much he had contributed. "I think probably ... the maximum that I could contribute," Lamson testified. In 1993, Lamson was contacted by someone within the Department of Health about coming to work for the state. After that initial contact, he met with Kim Robak, who was Nelson's chief of staff, in Robak's office. Two other high-ranking members of Nelson's administration attended the meeting: Environmental Quality Director Randy Wood and Health Department Director Dr. Mark Horton. Lamson said he saw nothing inappropriate about that meeting. He had no conflict of interest representing the state, he said, because Nelson was governor at this time and no longer was a law partner. Lamson also said he did not know who invited him to that meeting. "I don't remember how the meeting was set up (or) who called the meeting," Lamson said. Lamson said he was hired, shortly after the meeting, to represent both Environmental Quality and the Health Department in low-level radioactive-waste issues. He said he considered the departments - not the governor - his clients. His appointment to that role was requested by Nelson and approved by Attorney General Don Stenberg, according to documents submitted into evidence Monday. In his role, Lamson handled many of the state's lawsuits against the compact, including whether the state had veto power over what waste it could accept. Lamson testified that all the lawsuits he filed on behalf of the state were "meritorious." The compact has argued that the lawsuits were part of an effort by Nelson and the state to drag out the license process. "I would never and have never filed a lawsuit to harass anyone," Lamson testified. On cross-examination, Lamson acknowledged that he represented the state in a number of lawsuits initiated by the governor's Policy Research Office. The compact has alleged that the governor used the office to influence regulators. "In short, the governor's the client," attorney Alan Peterson asked Lamson. "No. The State of Nebraska was the client, but I'm not sure it makes a difference," Lamson replied. ***************************************************************** 32 The Sunflower August 2002 (No. 63) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 22:31:05 -0500 (CDT) The Sunflower Online monthly newsletter of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation August 2002 (No. 63) The Sunflower is a monthly e-newsletter providing educational information on nuclear weapons abolition and other issues relating to global security. Back issues are available at http://www.wagingpeace.org/sf/backissues.html I N T H I S I S S U E PERSPECTIVE MISSILES & MISSILE DEFENSE NUCLEAR MATTERS MOX FUEL NUCLEAR WASTE NUCLEAR INSANITY NUCLEAR ENERGY ACTION RESOURCES ************ PERSPECTIVE ************ Commemorating Hiroshima and Nagasaki "I continue traveling around the world because I don't want anyone in this world to ever experience what I have experienced." Miyoko Matsubara, Survivor of Hiroshima Learn Miyoko's story at http://www.endofexistence.org. 6 and 9 August, 2002 mark the 57th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. Organize an event in your community to commemorate the hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) and all those who have suffered as a result of nuclear weapons use, testing and production. Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki is an important step to recognizing the awesome and awful power that destroyed these cities and now threatens the future of humanity and all life with annihilation. The clear vision of the hibakusha has been that "Human beings and nuclear weapons cannot co-exist." We must choose: A nuclear weapons free future, or a future without humans and much of life. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation will hold its eighth annual "Sadako Peace Day" on 6 August from 5 pm to 6 pm. The event will take place at the Sadako Peace Garden located at La Casa de Maria. The Sadako Peace Garden was inaugurated by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and La Casa de Maria on 6 August 1995, the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. It is a tribute to Sadako Sasaki, and all those who strive for peace and a world free of nuclear weapons. "Sadako Peace Day" is a symbolic time of reflection and includes poetry, music and keynote speaker Dr. Nandini Iyer, professor emeritus of Religious Studies at UC Santa Barbara. For more information, please contact the Foundation at (805) 965-3443 or visit http://www.wagingpeace.org. For a listing of more actions around the US, please visit: http://www.ananuclear.org/hiroshimaevents.html Atomic Skies Falling With Hiroshima eyes I weep for a world self-destructing, never learning lessons from the atomic apocalypse of skies falling. With Nagasaki ears I listen to the woeful cries of more and more victims, each one muted by preemptive Destruction. With Bikini and Moruroa lips I mourn so many stories unheard, untold a legacy of catastrophe buried by atolls of coral. With Nevada skin I burn to tell a Truth obstructed of desolate Earth and People united by a cataclysmic obsolescence. With Lop Nor legs I run to find a secret crevice where I lie hidden from a home on the brink of nuclear precipice. With Novaya Zemlya and Chernobyl arms I reach to embrace an untainted vision, a reality not beholden since before the Trinity explosion. Unlike Pokhran and Chagai, I can not celebrate a new era of annihilation concealed in formidable disguise justifying my security by threatening our demise. --Carah Ong 6 August 2002 ************************** MISSILES & MISSILE DEFENSE ************************** US Cooperative Threat Reduction Team to Monitor Ukraine Missile Destruction As part of the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, US defense experts arrived in Ukraine on 15 July to monitor the elimination of many former Soviet SS-24 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The experts will verify that the disassembly and elimination of the deactivated SS-24 missiles stored at Pavlohrad comply with requirements under the 1991 START Treaty. The destruction of some 54 ICBMs began in June 2000. Approximately 30 of the ICBMs have been destroyed thus far. (source: AP, 15 July 2002) Taiwan Claims It Needs Island-Wide Missile Defense System Taiwan Defense Ministry spokesman Huang Suey-sheng stated on 16 July that his country needs an island-wide missile defense system to counter a growing threat from rival China, which has over 300 missiles pointed at the island. According to Huang, "In the future, we'll need to buy systems from overseas or domestically manufacture them so we can aggressively create an island-wide missile defense system." The statement came one week after the US Pentagon released a report claiming that China is increasingly considering attacking Taiwan-taking out military installations with little or no collateral damage-rather than peacefully resolving its differences with the island. China responded that the Pentagon claims were simply a pretext to sell more weapons to Taiwan. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan remarked on the reports, "All unprejudiced and peace-loving people should not fear China's progress and the development of China-US relations. China hopes that all US people of insight could have a clear idea about the detrimental effect of the report and oppose and resist such a report...China has no intention of spending its limited financial resources on arms expansion or military competition. Neither would it do such things when it was capable in the future." The Pentagon report estimated China's annual military expenditures at up to $65 billion. This year, Bejing officially proposed increasing its military budget to $20 billion, a 17.6% increase from last year. However, foreign defense analysts say China's official military budget does not include arms purchases and the real budget could be up to four times higher the official budget. (source: AP, 16 July 2002) Israel Seeks to Sell Arrow Missile Defense System to India Israel is seeking to sell the Arrow Missile Defense System to India. The system was developed in partnership with the US and, as a result, the US will have to approve the sale. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher noted of the potential Arrow System sale, "If you can build a missile for defense, you can build it for offense." As the US is seeking to develop a missile defense system of its own, the Bush administration has stated that it would "like friendly nations to be shielded as well." The Bush administration and Israeli officials believe that the sale of the Arrow System could strengthen both Israel-India as well as US-India relations. (source: AP, 23 July 2002) US Begins Flight Test of Airborne Laser Missile Defense System The US Department of Defense (DoD) carried out the first flight test of a modified Boeing 747-400 on 19 July in Wichita, Kansas. After the Boeing aircraft performance check is complete, it will be moved to Edwards Air Force Base, California, where it will be equipped with a tracking and high-energy laser. Current DoD plans call for seven such aircraft. The US government plans to spend $2.7 billion in the next five years on the Airborne Laser program. The aircraft is planned to house a high-energy chemical laser intended to shoot down ballistic missiles in their boost phase. The DoD plans to have the laser-equipped Boeings patrol the skies near conflict zones, scanning for plumes of missiles preparing for launch. A tracking laser would then lock-on and follow missiles. When targeting is complete, a laser gun would fire a three- to five-second shot at the missile in an attempt to perforate its surface and cause a fuel explosion. The Airborne Laser system is part of the Bush administration's plans to develop a layered missile defense system. One US official stated on 23 July that the DoD is planning a "system of systems" that would be capable of defending against any type of attack. According to another senior US official, "We used to talk about long-range missile defense and theater missile defense, but now it's all being brought under the same heading." The Bush administration is seeking $7.6 billion for Fiscal Year 2003 work on the systems. In early 2002, several missile defense programs were reorganized into the Missile Defense Agency. The reorganization freed the agency from previous requirements to provide budget projections, performance objectives and development deadlines, raising serious concerns about whether Congress or citizens will be able to determine whether the missile defense program is failing to meet standards of cost, time or efficiency. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) stated, "The possibility for the taxpayers to be cheated is pretty serious. What the Defense Department is trying to do is eliminate Congress' oversight role." (Sources: The Times, UK, 23 July 2002; AFP, 19 July 2002; AP, 16 July 2002) International Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (ICOC) In mid-June, delegations from nearly 100 countries met in Madrid to continue negotiations on an International Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (ICOC). BASIC reports on the Madrid Conference and analyzes the status of the ICOC in a BASIC note: http://www.basicint.org/nuk_ICOC.htm "On Thin Ice: First Steps for the Ballistic Missile Code of Conduct" is an excellent resource on the ICOC and can be found online at: http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2002_07-08/smithjul_aug02.asp ******************* NUCLEAR MATTERS ******************* Portuguese Police Arrest Man On Suspicion of Smuggling Uranium On 11 July, Portuguese police arrested a man suspected of having played a leading role in smuggling weapons-grade uranium out of Eastern Europe. At the request of French authorities, the 46-year-old Portuguese citizen, whose name was not released, was arrested in the northern city of Oporto. He is thought to have links with three foreign residents of France who were arrested in 2001 for possessing uranium. Portuguese police said the man may have been a leading member of an international gang that smuggles nuclear material from eastern European countries. (source: AP, 12 July 2002) Wildfires in Chernobyl Raise Radiation Levels According to Belarusian Emergency Minister Valery Astapov, dozens of wildfires burning in parts of Belarus that were most affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have raised radiation levels in the area. In mid-July, there were at least 30 peat fires and 11 forest fires burning in the Gomel and Brest regions of Belarus. One fire in the Brest region burned some 740 acres and another burned more than 1975 acres. Some 4,000 people worked to put the fires out in Gomel. The regions absorbed much fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident and Belarus is struggling to recover from the aftermath of the disaster. (source: AP, 16 July 2002) Missile Scientist and Nuclear Advocate Sworn In As India's New President On 25 July, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a missile scientist and advocate of nuclear weapons for use as a war deterrent, was sworn in as India's twelfth president. The new president symbolize's India's political and strategic ambitions. Kalam worked for more than four decades in India's defense laboratories and was one of the leaders in developing the country's space and nuclear-capable missile program. He was also part of the team that conducted five underground nuclear tests in May 1998. (source: AP, 25 July 2002) Senate Debates US-Russia Nuclear Treaty On 17 July, senior senators said the US should press for larger cuts and tighter security for Russia's nuclear arsenal after the ratification of the new US-Russia treaty. The treaty calls for the reduction of strategic forces of each country's nuclear arsenal to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads by 2012, the year in which the treaty expires. It also does not require the destruction of a single missile launcher or warhead, and each side can carry out the reductions at its own pace and even reverse them to temporarily build up its forces. Under the terms of the treaty, either side can temporarily suspend reductions or even build up forces without violating the treaty, making the treaty worthless. Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) and other senators on the Foreign Relations Committee said that they hoped the treaty would also be a prelude to an agreement on tactical nuclear weapons. The US does not know how many tactical nuclear weapons Russia has, where they are or how they are secured. The US also does not know Russia's ability to make new warheads and what it does with the warheads it decommissions. The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the treaty on 25 July. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that, although he is confident that Russia will make the two-thirds reduction to its deployed nuclear weapons by 2012, the US still wants more information about Russia's nuclear program. The US is particularly concerned with Russia's tactical nuclear weapons. Rumsfeld stated, "There's now [a] question that, even today, Russia is not transparent. They have a very secretive approach to a great deal of things." Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) said the Senate will probably ratify the treaty, but he was troubled by the fact that the treaty allowed an unlimited number of warheads to be kept in storage. Levin stated, "I hope we will find ways to destroy weapons, not just store them." For more information on the treaty and other US nuclear strategy plans, visit http://www.napf.org/articles/02.07/0711ongforce.htm (sources: AP, 25 July 2002; AP, 17 July 2002) World War II Bomb Removed from Nuclear Submarine Base in Scotland On 10 July, workmen began removing a 1,000-pound World War II bomb from the Clyde Naval Base in Scotland that services Britain's nuclear submarines. Earlier in the month, French divers on a training exercise found the British-made bomb embedded in silt less than 80 feet from a nuclear submarine jetty. According to Commodore John Borley, with the nuclear submarines berthed "well away," divers retrieved the device then workmen towed it 30 miles to Kilbrannan Sound, an area of deep water where the bomb was detonated on 11 July. The area around the River Clyde was used as a base for ships during World War II. Experts believe that the bomb-designed to be dropped from an aircraft-fell into the river as it was being transported. (source: AP, 10 July 2002) ********* MOX FUEL ********* Japan Returns MOX Fuel to Britain British Nuclear Fuels, Ltd. ships carrying 255 kilograms (560 pounds) of rejected mixed oxide (MOX) fuel left Japanese ports on 4 July to be returned to the fuel's maker in a two-month journey. The weapons-grade material is destined for the British reprocessing plant at Sellafield. Japan's Kansai Electric Power Co. imported the fuel in 1999 for its experimental nuclear power program that uses the plutonium and uranium mixture. Japan later rejected the MOX fuel when BNFL revealed that it had falsified quality-control data. The shipment is the first of its kind since 11 September and has sparked international concern from governments and organizations who fear a leak of radioactive material, an accident or a terrorist attack. On 22 July, Greenpeace campaigners onboard the "Nuclear Free Flotilla" caught up with the British freighters hauling the fuel in international waters around the Tasman Sea off the Australian coast. The campaigners and new South Wales Senator Ian Cohen threw themselves into the water in front of the oncoming ships, brandishing a "Nuclear Free Pacific" banner. The Australian Democratic and Green Parties said the shipment put the Australian mainland at risk. However, a spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer stated, "The appropriate safeguards are in place and the shipment entirely complies with international law. Australia has no position to object." New Zealand Defense Minister Mark Burton stated, "The government has made clear its opposition to such shipments and, as expected, as with previous shipments, the vessels seem to be staying well clear of New Zealand's 200-mile exclusive economic zone." Delegates to the 78-nation African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) summit, which met in July, strongly condemned nuclear waste shipments by EU member states and Japan in a final statement. Addressing the ACP summit, Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase called upon the group, which includes most of the world's poorest and smallest states, to join in opposing MOX shipments passing through the Pacific Ocean. He said the Pacific Ocean has defined the region's peoples, shaped their cultures, created their myths and traditions and fed them. Qarase stated, "This relationship with the ocean will make it easy for you to understand why we are so adamantly opposed to any actions which expose it to threats of pollution, hazardous waste and the destructive effects of nuclear and missile tests." For more information on MOX shipments and how they will affect the peoples and economies of the Pacific, read "Turning the Tide" at: http://wagingpeace.org/articles/02.07/0729maclellantide.htm (sources: Reuters, 22 July; AP, 18 July; AFP, 19 July; BBC News, 2 & 5 July) South Carolina Tries to Stop Plutonium Shipments Lawyers for South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges told the 4th US Court of Appeals on 10 July that the federal government should have conducted more environmental assessments before choosing the state to store plutonium. The US Department of Energy (DoE) plans to transfer six metric tons of plutonium from the former Rocky Flats nuclear facility in Colorado to the Savana River Site in Aiken, South Carolina, where the plutonium would be made into Mixed Oxide fuel for use in commercial nuclear power plants. The Savannah site currently holds about two metric tons of plutonium. It is unclear whether the DoE has begun shipping plutonium to South Carolina. Fearing that the plutonium will be indefinitely stored at the Savannah River site, Governor Hodges began fighting the DoE's plan last summer with highway roadblocks and vowing to lie in front of trucks to keep the shipments from crossing the state line. He sued the federal government in May after a court ruled in the DoE's favor to begin the plutonium shipments. *************** NUCLEAR WASTE *************** What's Next for Yucca Mountain National Nuclear Waste Dump? The US Senate voted 60-39 on 9 July to override Nevada's veto of the plan to make Yucca Mountain the national nuclear waste repository. However, the vote does not mean the end to the struggle to stop Yucca Mountain from becoming the nation's nuclear dump. Environmental organizations and the state of Nevada will continue to mount lawsuits against the federal government and the Department of Energy (DoE). There are also still Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing proceedings and continued Congressional action that could stop the project. Remember the Senators who endangered the environment and the lives of millions of Americans by voting YES to transporting highly radioactive waste across 45 states over the next 38 years during the upcoming elections! For those Senators who voted NO on the dangerous and scientifically uncredible plan, please call and thank them. Find out how the Senate voted at http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/02.07/0710onghowdidyoursenatorvote.htm On 23 July, President George W. Bush signed a bill making Yucca Mountain the nation's nuclear dump site. Bush had been a long-time supporter of Yucca Mountain as a repository site, formally recommending it to Congress in February 2002. Reporters were not allowed to witness the bill-signing. (sources: AP, 24 July 2002; AP, 10 July 2002; AP, 9 July 2002) What Does the US Department of Energy Have In Store For the Yucca Mountain National Nuclear Waste Repository? 2002: The Department of Energy continues work on unresolved scientific issues as it prepares an application for a construction permit that will be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 2003: The Department of Energy completes a detailed transportation plan, working with 45 states on routing and security, and with the NRC on waste canister designs and safeguards. 2003: Courts expected to rule on the first of five lawsuits already filed by the state of Nevada challenging the Yucca Mountain project. 2004: The Department of Energy plans to apply for a construction permit. The NRC licensing process is expected to take three to four years. 2007: Construction of the Yucca Mountain National Nuclear Waste Repository expected to begin. 2010-2034: 3,200 tons of highly radioactive waste per year will be shipped by rail, truck and barge to the Yucca Mountain site. The site's initial capacity is 77,000 tons of waste. However, with congressional approval the site could be expanded to hold up to 120,000 tons, to be filled by 2048. 2035 and beyond: The Yucca Mountain site is expected to remain open for 100 to 300 years, after which it would be shut in. (source: US Department of Energy, 9 July 2002) For more information, read "Senate Vote Does Not Mean End to Yucca Mountain Fight, More Congressional Action, Legal Suits, Protests and Blockades Will Follow" by Michael Mariotte and Kevin Kamps, Nuclear Information Resource Service at http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/02.07/0710mariottecampssenate.htm International Donors Agree to Aid Russia in Nuke Waste Clean-Up During a one-day conference chaired by the European Union and Russia on 9 July, international donors agreed to launch a $1.78 billion program to help clean up the environment in and around northern Russia, which faces threats from nuclear waste. The European Commission pledged about $50 million and Russia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden each offered $10 million for the most urgent projects needed to reduce water and air pollution in the Baltic and Barents Sea regions. The start-up funds will co-finance $1.78 billion worth of loans from international financial institutions for more than a dozen clean-up projects that have already been identified. According to EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Pattten, about $500 million will be spent on tackling nuclear waste, which is mainly the legacy of the Cold War when the USSR built hundreds of nuclear submarines. Many of the submarines are now being decommissioned, with many just rusting away in bases in the Barents Sea and the spent radioactive fuel being stored in hazardous conditions. Patten stated, "We must make sure that what is hazardous today does not become a disaster tomorrow. There are hundreds of nuclear submarines and reactors to be dismantled and vast quantities of radioactive waste to take care of." (source: Reuters, 9 July 2002) ******************* NUCLEAR INSANITY ******************* India Claims It Has Developed Nuclear Shelters for Troops Amid a face-off with Pakistan, Indian scientists claimed on 11 July that the country has developed nuclear shelters and a mobile decontamination system to protect troops from a nuclear strike. Despite fears that the conflict between India and Pakistan could lead to a nuclear catastrophe, the defense scientists said they were not aware of any plans to build similar nuclear shelters for the remainder of the country's billion-plus population. According to R.V. Swamy, chief controller of the state-run Defense Research and Development Organization, the integrated field shelters were built one meter below the ground and can hold 30 people for up to three days after a nuclear strike. Swamy stated, "It is a collective protection system, any ingress of nuclear, biological or chemical agents can be completely stopped. Of course on ground zero nothing will survive, these shelters will have to be at the periphery." Swamy refused to say whether the shelters were built along the border with Pakistan. Swamy also said that some neighboring nations, which he would not identify, had also shown interest in acquiring the nuclear shelters. According to Swamy, the military had asked in 1993 for some 26 items to be developed to cope with a nuclear, biological or chemical strike, including sensors to detect radiation and a vehicle to decontaminate an area struck by chemical weapons. The DRDO has also developed protective body suits and overboots for soldiers to wear in the event of a chemical or biological attack. Swamy stated, "These are mainly for a chemical environment, there is no protection possible for nuclear gamma radiation." (source: Reuters, 11 July 2002) **************** NUCLEAR ENERGY **************** Radioactive Leaks at Troubled Japanese Nuclear Reactor Water with minute traces of radioactivity was found dripping from a defective pipe in the No. 4 reactor of Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka nuclear reactor plant in Shizuoka prefecture southeast of Tokyo, on 11 July. The nuclear power plant has been plagued by shutdowns caused by similar leaks. According to Toshiaki Inoue, a Chubu Electric company official, the leak did not pose any danger to employees or the environment, and the reactor was not shut down. Recently, similar leaks have taken place at the plant. On 3 July, a radioactive leak was found in the Hamaoka plant's No. 3 reactor, but no radioactivity was reported to have escaped into the outside environment. The leak was not made public until 9 July. Chubu Electric Company said it had delayed announcing the incident because it was not deemed serious. Just one day after its operations resumed following a six-month hiatus, a radioactive leak was discovered in the plant's No. 2 reactor on 25 May. The Hamaoka plant first gained attention in November 2001 when Chubu Electric Company found radioactive water dripping inside the facility's No. 1 reactor. During a routine test two days earlier, a small amount of radioactive steam was found leaking from a pipe that ruptured. The company argues that neither of those leaks posed any radiation danger. However, it shut down both the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors for inspection and the No. 1 reactor has remained inactive. (source: AP, 11 July 2002) Russia Pledges to Accept Spent Fuel from Iranian Nuclear Power Plant In an attempt to allay US fears that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev announced on 12 July that his country will sign an agreement by the end of the year to take back spent nuclear fuel from the Russian-built nuclear power plant in Iran. Russia is helping Iran build a 1,000-megawatt pressurized water reactor at Bushehr in a $800 million deal. The US has denounced the plans, claiming that spent fuel from the project could provide Iran with weapons-grade radioactive material and boost its efforts to develop nuclear weapons. According to Rumyantsev, because the Russian parliament passed a law last year allowing the import of spent nuclear fuel, Russia and Iran will formally sign a protocol in September or October- paving the way for the spent fuel to be returned to Russia. Russian officials have stated that the plant at Bushehr will remain under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The reactor is scheduled to be completed by December 2003 and ready for operation by 2005. According to Rumyantsev, Russia is also actively cooperating with China in building nuclear power plants. The Russian government is also preparing to import spent nuclear fuel from other countries beginning in November. The law passed by the Duma last year allows Russia to accept nuclear waste from abroad for storage and reprocessing. Proponents of the plan claim it will bring in billions of dollars in revenue - money that could be used to clean up decades of past radioactive contamination in the country. However, environmental groups and concerned individuals say that Russia does not have enough facilities to store the waste safely and that the law could turn Russia into the world's nuclear dumping ground. (source: AP; 12 July 2002) Czech Nuclear Power Plant Faces Another Setback The Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic faced another setback in July when a short circuit occurred in the generator's rotor at the plant's second unit. The plant is a source of friction with neighboring Austria, which insists that the plant is unsafe and demands that it be shutdown. According to plant spokesman Milan Nebesar, the cause of the short-circuit is unknown. The generator's rotor will be replaced, causing a six-week delay in tests to prepare the unit to run at full capacity before the end of the year. (source: AP, 9 July 2002) ******* ACTION ******* Support Prisoner of Conscience Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu, prisoner of conscience, writes in his most recent censored letter dated February 15th and received by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation in July: "The monopoly on nuclear weapons has extended all around the world, but even small states can also produce nuclear weapons. Israel must come to know that nuclear weapons have no use. Nuclear weapons can not be used and they are not necessary for war. Nuclear weapons are not good for armies. The true test for nuclear weapons was to use them, but no army and no state has found any use for them. It is only a matter of time until those states with nuclear weapons will admit publicly that nuclear weapons have no use; that they are not good for armies and must be dismantled. Nuclear weapons must be banned exactly like chemical and biological weapons have been banned. It took 50 years for the U.S. to realize this and to reverse its policy. The next president should abolish Nuclear weapons [censored]. So again, I am optimistic. But it will take time. However, here in Israel and the Middle East it must happen very soon as part of the peace process in the Middle East." About Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu, a former Israeli nuclear technician, is serving an 18-year sentence at Ashkelon Prison for informing the public about Israel's secret nuclear weapons program. After revealing information about Israel's nuclear weapons program to a British newspaper, Vanunu was lured from the UK to Rome, where Israeli agents apprehended him. Vanunu was kept in solitary confinement for more than 11 years, from September 30, 1986 until March 12, 1998. Vanunu's story published on October 5, 1986, confirmed to the world for the first time that Israel had become a nuclear weapons state and had enough fissile material for as many as 200 advanced nuclear warheads. On 25 July 2002, Vanunu lost a legal battle to meet British attorneys seeking to file a suit against Israel in Britain. The Israeli Supreme Court upheld a lower court judgement denying prison visits by Vanunu's British lawyer and another ruling refusing a request for access to secret documents from his trial. Vanunu needs your support. You can write to him at Ashkelon Prison to encourage him. Mail from supporters sustains his hope. Mordechai Vanunu Ashkelon Prison Ashkelon, Israel School of the Americas Protesters Sentenced Toni Flynn took part in a peaceful protest last November at the School of the Americas (SOA) in Georgia. She was found guilty at her trial in July for trespassing and is now serving a 6-month jail sentence. Toni is a High Desert Catholic Worker member and a Benedictine Oblate at St. Andrew's Abbey, in Valyermo, California. She is a mother of four grown children and expecting her first grandchild in October. She has been participating in SOA Watch protests since 1998. She is currently being held in a county jail in Georgia with no air conditioning until she is transferred to a federal institution. She would greatly appreciate receiving letters while she is serving her time. You can write to her at 700 10th Street, Columbus, Georgia 31901-2899, USA. For more information on the School of the Americas or to learn about the other prisoners of conscience serving time for the November protest, please visit http://www.soawatch.org ************ RESOURCES ************ The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is pleased to announce the launching of our completely redesigned Nuclear Files website. Visitors can now easily navigate the site, take a journey through the Nuclear Age and learn about key issues. The site also contains a section for educators with sample course syllabi that incorporates lessons from our nuclear history into the classroom. Visit the redesigned and user-friendly Nuclear Files at Http://www.nuclearfiles.org Visit the ever-evolving website of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at Http://www.wagingpeace.org Always check the "New to Site" link on the home page. "Re-Thinking Nuclear Deterrence," by Commander Rob Green (Ret.), is a summary of arguments presented in "The Naked Nuclear Emperor: Debunking Nuclear Deterrence." It is now available at no charge in pdf format online at http://www.disarmsecure.org. "Possession and Deployment of Nuclear Weapons in South Asia: An Assessment of Some Risks" by R Rajaraman, M V Ramana, Zia Mian is available online at: http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2002&leaf=06&filename=4607&filetype=hml On 25 June 2002 a new communications platform was inaugurated on the long term consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe at the Palais des Nations in Geneva (Switzerland). To view the website, please visit http://www.chernobyl.info The Verification Research, Training and Information Centre, (VERTIC) in association with the United Nations Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UNA-UK), has produced a pamphlet explaining the verification of arms control and disarmament agreements. The pamphlet is designed as an educational tool to explain the linkages between disarmament, arms control and verification. A pdf version of the pamphlet (1.2mb) is available to down load from the Vertic web site at http://www.vertic.org. The direct link to the file is http://www.vertic.org/veri_pamphlet.pdf "Messages, Media, and Momentum: Media Training CD" from Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF) is an excellent resource based on an FPIF media training workshop. The CD provides concrete and constructive advise from a variety of prominent journalists with the mainstream press. It also contains a handbook of materials prepared by media consultant Lisa Baumgartne. The CD is only $15.00 and may be ordered online at http://www.fpif.org/media/training.html "Hiroshima and Nagasaki for Physics Teachers" July, 2002 workshop at http://titan.iwu.edu/~physics/Hiroshima/ Full Version of the BASIC report, "Bunker Busters: Washington's Drive for New Nuclear Weapons" is available at http://www.basicint.org/BB0702.pdf and an executive summary of the report is available at http://www.basicint.org/nuk_BB02_exsum.htm Rachel's Environment and Health News #748, "The Importance Of Surprises -- Part 2: Waste Management Forever," explains why nuclear waste is beyond human control. It is available online at: http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?issue_ID=2227 To find out how you may be affected by the shipments of spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain from throughout the US, visit http://www.mapscience.org. You'll discover how close you are to a transportation route and many other fascinating and startling facts about the "Mobile Chernobyl" plan. ************************************************************* "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe." H.G. Wells ********** EDITORS ********** Carah Ong David Krieger -- Carah Lynn Ong Research and Publications Consultant The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation PMB 121, 1187 Coast Village Road, Suite 1 Santa Barbara, California 93108-2794 USA Tel: +1 805-965-3443 Fax: +1 805-568-0466 Cell: +1 805-453-0255 Http://www.wagingpeace.org Http://www.nuclearfiles.org http://www.mbmd.org "He aha te nui mea o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata." (A Maori Saying) "What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, the people, the people." To become a free on-line participating member of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, click here: https://www.sbwh.com/wagingpeace/mbrshp.html. rich@pencil.math.missouri.edu ***************************************************************** 33 SOUTH KOREA: North Korea reportedly ready to discuss reconciliation The News Tribune - Tacoma, WA [Tribnet.com] SEOUL, The Associated Press North Korea is ready to meet with U.S. officials to discuss Korean reconciliation and other issues "without any preliminary conditions," Russia's foreign minister was reported as saying Monday. Igor Ivanov said he got the impression after talking to North Korean officials that they may meet with American and Japanese officials at the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Brunei this week, according to Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency. (Published 12:30AM, July 30th, 2002) Tacoma News, Inc. is a subsidiary of The McClatchy Company ***************************************************************** 34 Fluor managers promoted, moved This story was published Fri, Jul 26, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer Five Fluor Hanford and Fluor Federal Services managers are being promoted or shuffled. The changes are part of their parent Fluor Corp.'s efforts to expand its federal work and to adjust to the Department of Energy's plans to speed cleanup at Hanford, according to a Fluor news release and memo. Kent Campbell, general manger of Fluor Federal Services, will move immediately to Fluor Corp.'s headquarters in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and work on contracts and procurements for Fluor's new Government Services Group. Campbell became Fluor Federal's general manager in March 2001. Richland-based Fluor Federal is one of Hanford's original spin-off "enterprise companies" and was formed in 1996 from the defunct Kaiser Engineers Hanford Co. to be a major architectural and engineering subcontractor at Hanford. Fluor Corp. has changed Fluor Federal's focus to being a straightforward full-fledged architectural and engineering management company seeking contracts around the world while still doing Hanford work. Bob Heck, Fluor's vice president for Hanford's spent nuclear fuel project at the K Basins, will replace Campbell. Heck is returning to his old post, which has been somewhat expanded as a promotion, according to Fluor. Heck was Fluor Federal's general manager in 2000 and early 2001. Heck was a vice president reporting to an Arlington, Va., office of Fluor when he headed Fluor Federal the first time. He will now be an executive vice president reporting directly to Ron Peterson, chief executive of Fluor Government Services in Aliso Viejo. Norm Boyter, Fluor's vice president for Hanford's central plateau remediation project, will replace Heck as leader of the K Basins project. Larry Olguin, head of Fluor Hanford's Project Operations Center, will replace Boyter. Paul Pimental will assume Olguin's old duties. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 35 Hanford's glassification price tag still a mystery This story was published Sat, Jul 27, 2002 By John Stang Herald staff writer A price tag for Hanford's tank waste glassification complex won't be nailed down until fall, months behind the mid-summer date that was projected in the most recent schedule. However, the complexity and volume of the engineering and financial documents are adding weeks to the Department of Energy's review of Bechtel National's latest glassification calculations, said Roy Schepens, manager of DOE's Office of River Protection. He expects the project's costs through 2001 to be released sometime in September through November, after he briefs DOE's cleanup czar, Jessie Roberson, on the estimates. DOE's official target for the total complex is nearly $4 billion, although officials acknowledge the final figure might exceed $5 billion. An external team coordinated by DOE's Washington, D.C., headquarters is scheduled Tuesday to begin a two-week review of Bechtel's calculations so far. Hanford's biggest cleanup problem is 53 million gallons of highly radioactive wastes in 177 underground tanks. The site's master plan is to build a complex to convert some or all of the wastes into glass. Bechtel is designing and building the complex with state-enforced legal deadlines to start glassification by 2007, to get glassification to full speed by 2009 and to glassify 10 percent of the wastes by 2018. Bechtel's contract with DOE gives the company until 2011 to get glassification to full speed -- about 1 1/2 years behind the state's legal deadline -- at an estimated cost of around $4 billion through 2011. But in May, Bechtel submitted new budget calculations that call for an accelerated cleanup, reaching the 10 percent treatment goal as early as 2013. That's five years ahead of schedule, but comes with a price tag of about $4.4 billion to $4.8 billion through 2011, Bechtel believes. Bechtel's award fees from DOE through 2011, which could end up in excess of $200 million, come on top the vitrification plant costs. DOE hasn't yet decided whether an accelerated glassification pace would be worth the extra $477 million to $800 million that Bechtel estimates it will cost. Part of the decision is certain to hinge on how close Bechtel gets to the lower number. Naventi is confident that Bechtel can cut at least half of that $350 difference. DOE wants to speed up nuclear cleanup at Hanford and elsewhere. However, the federal agency is still officially aiming at a target of less than $4 billion for the glassification project through 2011. DOE and Bechtel still have to agree on how much contingency money would be needed to take care of unexpected cost overruns. Bechtel's $4.8 billion figure includes $300 million to cover unexpected costs that it is responsible for. Schepens will have to decide on how much federal contingency money to add to the pot to take care of overruns that are not Bechtel's fault. DOE must also decide how the long-term price tag will affect fiscal 2003's federal appropriation for the glassification project. For the last two years, DOE has said the project needs $690 million annually for the first few years after construction begins. That construction has just begun to ramp up. DOE has not publicly unveiled yet what it wants to allocate to the glassification project for fiscal 2003, but it is expected to do so Thursday. Fiscal 2003 starts Oct. 1, about the same time DOE expects to settle on a long-term price tag for the project. Schepens said the 2003 appropriation will be sufficient to keep the glassification project on track but declined to name DOE's current proposed dollar figure. Schepens and Naventi said the long-term price tag should not affect the project's 2003 appropriation because the same work would be tackled that year no matter what the long-range picture looks like. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 36 Sentimental ties to SNS contracts The Oak Ridger Online -- Feature: Business -- 07/30/02 by R. Cathey Daniels Oak Ridger staff Over half a century ago U.S. Army Gen. Leslie Groves oversaw the largest construction project within the Manhattan Project district from his headquarters on the corner of River Road (now Melton Lake Drive) and the Oak Ridge Turnpike. Today Danny Brannon lives in that stone "headquarters," known as the Brannon Home and listed with the National Historic Register, and he will oversee construction of the largest combined contract awarded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory since the Manhattan Project era. "I think that's just cool," said Brannon during a visit to The Oak Ridger offices Monday. Brannon, a 1977 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, is construction superintendent for Blaine Construction of Knoxville which teamed with Caddell Construction Co. of Montgomery, Ala., to take two Spallation Neutron Source contracts Monday worth a combined $84.6 million. Brannon's grandfather, Lefty Brannon, owned the stone home at 151 Oak Ridge Turnpike prior to the federal government's securing land for the Manhattan Project, and the property was returned after World War II. Brannon said that a plaque hangs on the mantel telling the historic significance of Lot 1 of the Manhattan Project in Anderson County. Blaine Construction has handled the lion's share of the construction work at the SNS, with four contracts now under its banner. "We got those contracts because we were the low bidder every time," said Brannon. Another Oak Ridge boy, Scott Boone, is Blaine's project manager for the SNS site. "We were both born and raised in Oak Ridge and we're both really proud of the fact that we were awarded the biggest contract," said Brannon. "Blaine got the first contract, and now it looks like we'll get the last (construction) contract." ORNL Director Bill Madia said in a written statement, "We are delighted that contracts of this size will go to local firms and local workers. These contracts bring to $520 million the total spent in Tennessee on procurements and salaries for the SNS project." Currently 590 construction workers are employed on the SNS site, and the two new contracts will enable ORNL to expand that work force, according to an ORNL press release. On completion about 400 workers are expected to be employed at the site. The two contracts will also move forward construction of the Central Laboratory and Office Building and the Target Building at the site. The 254,000-square-foot Central Laboratory and Office Building facility will be the hub of daily activity at SNS and will provide offices, laboratories, conference rooms, and shop space needed to support research activities. The Target Building is where the SNS accelerator system will deliver a high-energy proton beam to a liquid mercury target. The facility will house state-of-the-art instruments that will collect and analyze scientific data and help researchers understand the composition of materials. The uniquely designed, high-tech instruments in the Target Building will be used each year by up to 2,000 visiting scientists from the United States and abroad, according to the press release. Work on the Central Office Building and Target Building is expected to be complete in the summer of 2004. The SNS project continues on schedule and on budget, according to the release, with an estimated completion date in 2006. Knight/Jacobs Joint Venture manages all construction for the SNS project, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy. R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or [danielsrcd@oakridger.com] . [http://www.oakridger.com] All Contents ©Copyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 37 Engineer Lappa fought Livermore, UC - and won www.theargusonline.com Monday, July 29, 2002 - 5:27:13 PM MST By Ian Hoffman - STAFF WRITER Nuclear engineer David Lappa won not once, but twice against what he calls the ``DOE-UC legal juggernaut.'' In 1997, Lappa was named a human-factors expert for a panel investigating a safety breach at Livermore's plutonium facility, known as Superblock. In cutting plutonium disks for a weapons experiment, managers and workers had created an ``overmass'' in a machining glove box - that is, they violated limits on the amount of plutonium allowed in a sealed chamber in which workers can handle hazardous materials via gloves in the sides. Called ``operating safety procedures'' or OSPs, the limits guard against plutonium pieces accidentally assembling a critical mass, resulting in a wave of deadly neutrons, signaled by a bright blue flash. Lappa found the glovebox already was above its limits, and the panel heard testimony that one worker refused to add more plutonium by asking a supervisor, ``You want me to violate the OSP again?'' ``My jaw dropped. There was clear evidence that these guys were willfully violating criticality rules,'' Lappa said. ``Willfulness makes all the difference in the world ... And these guys had decided to shine off their OSPs - to forget them - in order to get their work done more quickly.'' One panelist seemed inclined to agree but eventually joined the rest of the committee in a report that mentioned nothing about a potential willful violation, instead chalking the incident up to poor training. Lappa declined to sign the report, which bore on its front page the names and signature lines for each of the panelists. Lab officials whited out Lappa's signature line, he said, so it would appear he was merely a consultant, not a voting member who disagreed. Lappa complained inside the lab and finally went to Energy Department investigators. When lab officials learned he had gone outside, Lappa was moved to a windowless office once used as a closet. He opened the door the first time to find a foil-wrapped suppository lying on the floor. He was, in his words, persona non grata at Livermore. Lappa filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor under what's colloquially known as the Nuclear Whistleblower Act. In 1998, a Labor Department judge ruled that Livermore lab and the university had illegally retaliated against him. The lab and the university did not appeal the ruling, and the secretary of labor signed the order. Lappa was entitled to $15,000, the labor order said, plus a deletion of all negative references in his personnel file, a good-faith effort to find him a better job and freedom from future reprisals. But the retaliation continued, he said. He complained to a senior DOE manager in Oakland, noting that the energy secretary had announced a zero-tolerance policy for retaliation against whistleblowers. ``He said, `Well, we don't put any stock in that Department of Labor order,' '' Lappa recounted. ``Here I was a taxpayer, I had worked for the federal government for 18 years, and this guy is sitting here telling me he doesn't care what the Department of Labor says.'' So Lappa decided to sue again, in state court. To make his case, he needed documents and witnesses from the lab and Energy Department. They turned down his Freedom of Information Act requests for a year. So he sued to get them. The federal judge ruled for Lappa, scolding the Energy Department and university and ordering them to surrender the requested information. He never did get the most important piece - his fellow panelists' notebooks - because the Energy Department claimed they were classified. Lappa finally gave up and moved to Australia with a $250,000 settlement. ``How far do you think that went with about a dozen attorneys?'' Lappa said by phone. ``If you don't have a lot of money going in, good luck taking on the University of California, much less UC being bankrolled by the treasury of the United States of America. They weren't paying a dime for their legal defense.'' Livermore spokeswoman Susan Houghton said the lab went out of its way to comply with the Labor Department order. "We believe we did everything we were asked and above, to accommodate this individual." Lappa just laughs. "It's simply legendary inside the laboratory that whenever people go outside the system, they get retaliated against," Lappa said. "And if you start (taking on) the University of California, you're messing with the big boys. They take the weapons program all the way back to the 1940s. And if you have a conscience, you better make sure you don't get into a moral predicament. Because if you do, you better dust that resume off - or better yet, don't take the job.'' *©1999-2002 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers* ***************************************************************** 38 Energy Bill: Fueled by Pork (washingtonpost.com) By Carl Pope and Ed Crane Tuesday, July 30, 2002; Page A17 As members of the House and Senate wrangle over how to hitch together their versions of an energy plan, the two of us -- one a committed conservationist, the other an advocate of free-market principles -- find ourselves in a rare moment of harmony. We both agree that the energy bill now in conference committee ought to be stopped. Whether you're a liberal or a conservative, one thing is clear: It's time to derail this legislative train. The Senate has already killed the big items on the agendas of both the environmentalists (higher auto-mileage standards) and the oil industry (drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). Some Washington insiders smugly say that since now no one is happy with this bill, it must be a good one. Wrong. The legislation does nothing to improve the efficiency of energy markets or to remedy any market failures. In fact, it makes matters worse by further distorting these markets with billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies and other handouts to well-connected energy industries. This shouldn't come as any surprise. When politicians lack the courage or wherewithal to solve problems, they reflexively subsidize politically potent industries that supposedly offer solutions. So let's start at the top: What's the problem that the House and Senate bills supposedly solve? It's not energy supply or price. There is no national energy shortage, and prices are moderate in constant dollars. In fact, the House and Senate bills will almost certainly raise gasoline prices by ramming down consumers' throats a poorly conceived, environmentally damaging and expensive ethanol mandate. It's not oil dependence. For those to whom this is important, the legislation would have only a trivial effect on domestic oil production or consumption. It's not gasoline refining capacity. Even those in the oil industry acknowledge that when new capacity is needed, they'll add it; profit opportunities, or the lack of them, are the only real barrier -- and the ethanol mandate might actually create spot shortages on the coasts. It's not consumer protection in electricity markets. The bill gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a green light to continue restructuring the industry in an experiment that looks more dubious by the minute, especially for consumer interests. The bill passed by the Republican House last August boils down to little other than $33 billion in tax breaks and subsidies, the great majority of which are awarded to the coal, oil and nuclear industries. It has dozens of new federal studies and other benefits for virtually every energy technology represented by a lobbyist. Since when did conservatives believe in picking winners and losers in the marketplace? The Senate bill crafted by the Democrats, with a price tag of merely $14.5 billion, isn't much better. It, too, has a hurricane of subsidies, tax breaks and regulatory preferences for every energy industry you can imagine. And despite Democrats' green rhetoric, the Senate bill rains roughly the same level of subsidies on the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries as it does on "green" energy technologies such as solar and wind. Conservative legislators have conveniently forgotten the economists' admonition that if a technology is economically competitive, no public subsidies are necessary, and if a technology is not economically competitive, no amount of public subsidy or special favors will make it so. Liberal legislators, on the other hand, are so hypnotized by the handouts to their favorite industries that they overlook the far greater sacks of largess bestowed on their economic competitors. We would hope it's not too late for something better. Devotees of Adam Smith and Rachel Carson should join together to propose an alternative bill, one that would simply strip away all energy subsidies and preferences from the budget and the federal tax code. Environmentalists would be happy if renewable energy sources and energy-efficient technologies were just allowed to compete with the fossil fuels industry on a level playing field. The only way to level it is to end the ever-escalating arms race of corporate subsidies that guarantee green technologies will never win, no matter which party is in power. Likewise, many economic conservatives are more interested in freeing energy markets than in rigging them, but they've lacked the ability to fight the pork-barrel crowd in Washington. Not only would energy markets operate more fairly and efficiently but taxpayers could realize billions of dollars of savings by saying "no" to this grotesque bipartisan avalanche of welfare for the well-connected. If it is too late for something better, then let's just kill these bills and call it a day. Carl Pope is executive director of the Sierra Club. Ed Crane is president of the Cato Institute. © 2002 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************