Subject: headlines NUKE-NET HEADLINE ALERT (Feb. 15) The New York Times is reporting that long term, steel and concrete storage casks for spent nuclear fuel rods are being built at nuclear plants without any public hearings or enviromental studies of the sites and plans. Licensee's can build the waste sites without notifying the public and local authorities. Critics believe the situation is "incredible." More than 30,000 tons of such waste has already accumulated. (Feb. 15) Reuter is reporting that Greenpeace will follow and track the shipment of 112 tons of nuclear waste from France to Japan. The waste is so highly radioactive that a person standing within one yard of a single unshielded block would receive a lethal dose of radiation in less than one minute. A fully loaded shipment of the waste could contain as much as 10 times the radioactivity released at Chernobyl. (Feb. 15) A top Kremlin officer is warning that Russia would help Iran develop a nuclear arsenal by agreeing to complete a nuclear plant in Iran. Some critics argue that the agreement is based on the desperate need for cash in Russia's nuclear ministry. (Feb. 15) Reuter is reporting that the German Environment Minister has ordered the state of Lower Saxony to receive a shipment of nuclear waste. A court dispute over the waste has created an on-again off-again situation. On one occasion the court ordered a halt to the planned shipment due to security reasons. (Feb. 15) Reuter is reporting that a British television documentary disclosed a secret nuclear arsenal in the hands of right-wing South Africans. The report says that radicals have possession of four neutron bombs and one hydrogen bomb. A former military official said that the radicals have at least two nuclear weapons. South African government officials are dismissing the report as rumor. (Feb 15) Reuter is reporting that a Russian Naval Officer stole uranium and told investigators it was easier than stealing a sack of potatoes. The Russian counter-intelligence agency says they have 467 pounds of uranium fuel stolen from nuclear plants in the past year and 18 pounds of weapons-grade uranium. (Feb. 14) UPI is reporting that the Kremlin says building a nuclear plant in Iran will not help that country develop nuclear weapons. Russian officials are upset over the agreement between the US, N. Korea, and S. Korea to build western designed plants in N. Korea. (Feb. 14) Reuter is reporting that Barvaria supports the controversial Temelin nuclear plant being constructed in the neighboring Czech republic. Westinghouse is helping to complete the plant. (Feb. 14) Reuter is reporting that the London-based Medical Action for Global Security is urging better security to stem the tide of black market nuclear sales. They say that the flow is much greater than the amount of seizures of such material last year throughout Europe would indicate. The group says Pakistan and Iraq are the most likely buyers followed by Iran, Libya, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. (Feb. 13) Reuter is reporting that Ukraine wishes to build a nuclear fuel plant to decrease dependence on poor quality Russian fuel rods. The Ukraine is trying to break the Russian monopoly on fuel but cannot afford to build its own plant. (Feb. 14) Reuter is reporting that the Arab League chief urged Israel to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty. (Feb. 13) Reuter is reporting that France is planning to test 10-20 nuclear weapons soon. South Pacific nations have long criticized the French tests at Mururoa, 750 miles southeast of Tahiti, complaining of radioactive fallout. France has detonated 190 nuclear devices in Mururoa and at a nearby atoll from 1966, 46 of them in the air and the rest in boreholes drilled either under the coral or under the lagoon. (Feb. 13) Reuter is reporting that Tokyo has been unsuccessful in persuading France and Britain to disclose the route of a shipment of nuclear waste. The planned shipment has already drawn criticism from 20 nations. (Feb. 13) Reuter is reporting that Israel will not sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty citing the threat of war from Iraq and Iran. (Feb. 12) UPI is reporting that Egypt will not sign the Non- Proliferation Treaty unless Israel does. (Feb. 12) Reuter is reporting that Egypt will not sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty even if Israel does commit to sign at a later date. Egypt will only sign at the time that Israel does. (Feb. 11) Reuter is reporting that South Korea is planning to build nuclear plants in China. (Feb. 11) Reuter is reporting that Norway's Environment Minister is concerned about nuclear waste leaks from the Russian Kola peninsula, former base for the Soviet nuclear submarine fleet. The leaks were discovered in 1982 but nothing has been done to correct the problem. The minister called the situation at Kola "hopeless." (Feb. 9) Reuter is reporting that the status of nuclear industry in the Ukraine is at an all time low. Thousands of workers have left the Ukraine to work at three new reactors in neighboring Russia. The pay is much greater in Russia. (Feb. 9) Reuter is reporting that Pakistan has a new seismic monitoring station to detect nuclear tests in nearby countries. (Feb. 9) Reuter is reporting that Japan is planning to review construction standards at its nuclear plants with 49 operating reactors because of the recent Kobe earthquake. A Tokyo gubernatorial candidate who is also has a Ph.D. in nuclear physics announced in a press conference that Japan's reactors cannot withstand strong earthquakes. (Feb. 8) Reuter is reporting that Austria is strongly opposing a planned loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to fund the Slovkia nuclear plant. (Feb. 8) Reuter is reporting that China has promised neighboring Kazakhstan that it would never use nuclear bombs against it. China is also hoping for discussions on the disarmament of chemical and biological weapons. (Feb. 7) Reuter is reporting that Hungarian and Austrian environmentalists are publicizing their opposition to a Soviet style reactor being built in Slovakia which will not meet western safety standards. (Feb. 7) Reuter is reporting that Hungarian and Austrian environmentalists say that a planned nuclear plant to be built in Slovakia would not pass western safety standards and should not be built. (Feb. 6) Reuter is reporting that Iran says that they will sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty even if Israel does not sign. (Feb. 6) Reuter is reporting that eight Arab countries said that peace in the Middle East is impossible if Israel does not sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty. It is believed Israel has about 200 nuclear warheads. (Feb. 3) Reuter is reporting that Indonesian politicians are urging a clarification of its energy goals. The government plans to build a nuclear plant despite previously stating that nuclear power would be the last resort in their earthquake-prone country. end