Subject: NucNews 99/11/27 Briefs Date: Mon Please address replies to articles to the original publisher. Please send NucNews copies? Refuting false information appreciated! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [The full text can be found at http://prop1.org/nucnews/9911nn/991127nn.htm} * Russia U.S. make Y2K fail-safe for nuke arsenal * NZ election good news for abolition * Japanese Nuclear Victim Takes Turn for Worse * Japanese uranium worker in grave condition after exposure * Nuclear accident casts long shadows * Last Working Chernobyl Reactor Is Restarted * North Korea warns South Korea over missile program * China to U.S.: Back off treaty changes * Is Beijing aiming to seize Panama Canal? * China blasts U.S. plans to build an anti-missile defense system * U.S. wary after report of Chinese missile plans * EU probe into missing plutonium shipment says human error to blame * Three Nuclear Cities * Russia Says U.S. Concerns May Be Met Without Amending ABM Pact * With Talks on Iraq Stalled U.S. May Seek Key U.N. Vote * GEORGE W. REAGAN * National Missile Defense - Related on the Web - The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists * DEBATING DEFENSE * Why National Missile Defense Won't Work * Cohen to Discuss U.S. Missile Shield on European Trip * Lawrence Lab work key to atomic storage * Nuclear tools of terror could destroy in silence * Unnecessary risks * Radioactive roulette * Schoolyard yields troubling secrets ---------- * Russia U.S. make Y2K fail-safe for nuke arsenal San Francisco Examiner Nov. 26 1999 Eric Rosenberg EXAMINER WASHINGTON BUREAU http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1999/11/26/ NEWS14370.dtl WASHINGTON - A small group of U.S. and Russian military officers won't be doing much New Year's Eve cork-popping as the millennium arrives at midnight on Dec. 31. Instead they will be guarding against the end of the world. Their concern is the ultimate Y2K catastrophe: Computer glitches causing the launch of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. * NZ election good news for abolition From: "Alyn Ware" Date: Sun 28 Nov 1999 02:27:16 +1300 Elections today in New Zealand have resulted in the formation of a new government led by Labour which has a policy to "take a lead in negotiations to achieve a Nuclear Weapons Convention." This is significant progress from the previous National government which was forced to accept the Labour initiated policy (now law) of keeping nuclear weapons out of our New Zealand's territory including territorial waters and which joined the New Agenda Coalition but which has not been very supportive of a nuclear weapons convention. * From: Kate Dewes < kate@chch.planet.org.nz > November 28 1999 (November 27th in US) We are thrilled with the news tonight that Helen Clark has been elected the first woman Prime Minister of Aotearoa/New Zealand leading a Labour/Alliance Coalition government after 9 years in Opposition. She has been a long-time proponent of nuclear abolition and is committed to the Labour Party policy of promoting a Nuclear Weapons Convention the New Agenda Coalition and the goals of Abolition 2000. She is keen to take an active part in the NPT in April and last year she launched Rob Green's book 'Fast Track to Zero Nuclear Weapons' in Parliament. Watch this space! * Japanese Nuclear Victim Takes Turn for Worse New York Times November 27 1999 Filed at 12:18 a.m. ET By Reuters http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-nuclear.html TOKYO (Reuters) - A worker heavily exposed to radiation this year in Japan's worst nuclear accident suffered temporary heart failure on Saturday and was in a very critical condition his doctors said. Hisashi Ouchi 35 had received the highest level of radiation exposure from the September accident at a nuclear processing plant northeast of Tokyo and was recently given revolutionary blood treatment they said. * Japanese uranium worker in grave condition after exposure ABC News Online This Bulletin: Sat 27 Nov 1999 20:55 AEDT http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/weekly/newsnat-27nov1999-67.htm A Japanese uranium worker exposed to extreme radiation two months ago is in a critical condition in the Tokyo hospital he was admitted to after the accident. Doctors says Hisashi Ouchi's heart stopped beating possibly as a result of the treatment he has been receiving. * Nuclear accident casts long shadows Japanese town considers name change to cape dark radioactive shame By Valerie Reitman / Los Angeles Times Detroit News 11/22/99 http://detnews.com/1999/nation/9911/26/11260055.htm TOKYO -- The signs at the city limits that once proudly proclaimed "Town of Nuclear Energy" have been replaced with bland placards that say simply Welcome to Tokaimura. It is one tangible sign of the shame that the town -- previously viewed as an elite center of nuclear power research -- now feels in the wake of Japan's worst nuclear disaster. * Last Working Chernobyl Reactor Is Restarted New York Times November 27 1999 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS http://www.nytimes.com/99/11/27/news/world/ukraine-chernobyl.html KIEV Ukraine -- Ukrainian authorities restarted the last working reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant Friday ignoring international pressure to shut it down. The reactor No. 3 was restarted at 5:30 a.m. after almost five months of repairs. It is running at about 5 percent of capacity and will gradually increase its output said a spokeswoman for the plant who declined to give her name. She would not say when the reactor was expected to reach full power. * North Korea warns South Korea over missile program Miami Herald Posted at 11:12 a.m. EST Wednesday November 24 1999 http://www.herald.com/content/wed/digdocs/071299.htm SEOUL South Korea -- (AP) -- North Korea on Wednesday accused South Korea of developing longer-range missiles and threatened to take a ``stronger countermeasure'' against its rival. The North said it is upset by reports that South Korea is trying to develop a missile that can reach all parts of the communist country. * China to U.S.: Back off treaty changes By ERIK ECKHOLM THE NEW YORK TIMES Seattle Post-Intelligencer Thursday November 25 1999 http://www.seattlep-i.com/national/miss251.shtml BEIJING -- China's chief of arms control issued a new warning yesterday that U.S. plans for a national missile defense system even if intended to stop attacks from countries like North Korea and Iraq would set off a global arms race and cause more countries to develop nuclear weapons.The existing Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty which the United States proposes altering to allow limited defenses has long been a cornerstone of nuclear stability Sha Zukang director of arms control and disarmament in China's foreign ministry said yesterday in an article in the official newspaper China Daily. * Is Beijing aiming to seize Panama Canal? Chinese tycoon says he won't control waterway Deseret News Wednesday November 24 1999Associated Press http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0 1249 135007218 00.html? WASHINGTON - Retired Adm. Thomas Moorer a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says China is preparing to take over the Panama Canal once the United States relinquishes control. * China blasts U.S. plans to build an anti-missile defense system By Benjamin Kang Lim Reuters News Service Deseret News Thursday November 25 1999 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0 1249 135007546 00.html? BEIJING - China's top disarmament official said Wednesday U.S. plans to build an anti-missile defense system could trigger an arms race and threaten global and regional stability. Sha Zukang director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Arms Control and Disarmament said U.S. efforts to develop anti-missile missiles known as the National Missile Defense system would have a formidable adverse impact and tip the global balance. * U.S. wary after report of Chinese missile plans Spokesman Review November 24 1999 Associated Press http://www.spokane.net/news-story-body.asp?Date=112499&ID=s711094&cat= WASHINGTON -- Amid reports of a planned expansion of Chinese short-range missile systems across from Taiwan the State Department said Tuesday it has made clear to China its concerns regarding missile deployments and their influence on the situation in the Taiwan Strait. Spokesman James Rubin refused to confirm or deny a report in The Washington Times that China is deploying nearly 100 of its newest short-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads at a base about 275 miles from Taiwan. * EU probe into missing plutonium shipment says human error to blame Miami Herald Posted at 9:57 a.m. EST Thursday November 25 1999 http://www.herald.com/content/thu/digdocs/046929.htm BRUSSELS Belgium -- (AP) -- The European Union blamed human error and organizational problems for the temporary disappearance of a plutonium shipment and said Thursday it would tighten rules for handling dangerous substances. "Human error internal communication and organizational problems (were) at the origin of the incident an EU Commission statement said. * Three Nuclear Cities U.S. Department of Energy letter to Washington Post Saturday, November 27, 1999; Page A24 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/27/014l-112799-idx.html Despite the congressional cuts imposed on our important Nuclear Cities Initiative, we will do our best to maintain projects in three Russian nuclear cities, not just one described in The Post [news story, Nov. 12]. Our program is designed to keep the former nuclear weapons scientists from selling their knowledge to unfriendly countries. While we will place considerable emphasis on the nuclear city of Sarov, we also will continue to encourage the development of peaceful commercial jobs for former weapons scientists in Snezhinsk and Zheleznogorsk. * Russia Says U.S. Concerns May Be Met Without Amending ABM Pact Russia Today Sunday, Nov 28 at Prague 11:05 pm, N.Y. 05:05 pm http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=112183 UNITED NATIONS, Nov 23, 1999 -- (Reuters) Russia's U.N. ambassador suggested that U.S. misgivings about the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty could be addressed within the existing pact and without the amendments sought by Washington. * With Talks on Iraq Stalled, U.S. May Seek Key U.N. Vote Terms for Resumption of Weapons Inspections in Dispute By Colum Lynch Special to The Washington Post Saturday, November 27, 1999; Page A02 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/27/082l-112799-idx.html UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 26-Intensive U.N. talks over Iraq policy broke off today, setting the stage for an American effort to break the impasse by forcing the Security Council to vote next week on whether to send U.N. weapons inspectors back to Iraq for the first time in a year. * GEORGE W. REAGAN New York Post 11/23/99 http://www.nypostonline.com/112399/editorial/18522.htm George W. Bush called for a a distinctly American internationalism" in his important foreign-policy address on Friday. The very idea indicates the seriousness and originality of the speech which powerfully evoked Ronald Reagan's muscular and expansive view of America's place in the world. * National Missile Defense Posted Wednesday Nov. 24 1999 at 4:30 p.m. PT By David C. Morrison a free-lance writer based in Washington David C. Morrison covered national security for National Journal from 1985 to 1995. http://www.slate.com/Gist/99-11-24/Gist.asp#Bio The Clinton administration is bound by law to decide by mid-2000 whether or not to begin deployment of a limited defense against long-range missiles. What is the history of missile defense? Could a missile system protect the United States? Which nations pose the greatest threat to this country? And what are the diplomatic repercussions of building such a system? … Related on the Web - The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has collected its recent articles regarding missile defense with a particular focus on proposed amendments to the 1972 ABM Treaty on this page. Like the Bulletin the Center for Defense Information stridently opposes missile defense systems. Its site provides links to white papers policy analyses and other arms control organizations. However missile defense proponents are not voiceless on the Web: On his home page House Majority Leader Dick Armey contends that the ABM Treaty is no longer valid and applauds President Clinton's policy reversal on a national missile defense system. http://www.bullatomsci.org/research/collections/armscntrlabm.html http://www.cdi.org/issues/bmd/index.html http://www.freedom.gov/ http://www.freedom.gov/library/defense/s990317.asp http://www.freedom.gov/library/defense/abmletter.asp * DEBATING DEFENSE Letters to the editor Scientific American 12/99 http://www.sciam.com/1999/1299issue/1299letters.html … Editors' note: Articles on national defense and nuclear arms have always appeared in Scientific American because political decisions rest in part on whether these goals are technically feasible. Scientists and defense experts of diverse political views criticize the current antimissile defense proposals on the grounds listed in the article; Pike and his co-authors did a particularly good job of presenting them. We'd like to hear from you. Send us a letter. http://www.sciam.com/forms/editorletterform.html * Why National Missile Defense Won't Work Scientific American George N. Lewis Theodore A. Postol and John Pike 08/99 http://www.sciam.com/1999/0899issue/0899quicksummary.html Worries about rogue states with nuclear weapons have renewed enthusiasm for an antiballistic-missile defense system that could protect the U.S. Unfortunately such a system is infeasible and unwise today for the same reasons that it was three decades ago: countermeasures are too easy to build * Cohen to Discuss U.S. Missile Shield on European Trip Reuters Updated 3:20 PM ET November 24 1999 http://news.excite.com/news/r/991124/15/politics-arms-cohen WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary William Cohen will try to ease concerns in NATO about U.S. plans to build a missile defense shield and discuss the gap between American and European military abilities at a meeting in Brussels next week. * Lawrence Lab work key to atomic storage San Francisco Examiner Nov. 27 1999 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1999/11/27/ NEWS7215.dtl Berkeley The Energy Department has plans to use technology developed at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory to store nearly 19 tons of surplus plutonium in huge ceramic bricks. * Nuclear tools of terror could destroy in silence by JEFF PILLETS and THOMAS J. FITZGERALD Bergen Record Sunday November 21 1999 http://www.bergen.com/news/terrjp199911212.htm Just before Christmas 1995 dissidents from the break away republic of Chechnya sought to strike terror into Mother Russia. They took a single canister of cesium -- a radioactive element that remains potent for 30 years -- and planted it in Moscow's Izmailovsky Park a popular marketplace. Their plan was foiled when Russian authorities were tipped off and recovered the canister. But security experts said thousands of people strolling close to the cesium could have been killed or injured. * Unnecessary risks Everyday atomic-powered items pose dangers Bergen Record Sunday November 21 1999 http://www.bergen.com/editorials/rad22199911221.htm THE PHRASE "nuclear power" usually conjures up images of huge electricity plants or atomic bombs. But American industry has found hundreds of other applications for radioactive material. * Radioactive roulette Bergen Record Sunday November 21 1999 By THOMAS J. FITZGERALD and JEFF PILLETS Staff Writers http://www.bergen.com/news/newatomic199911211.htm In Union County a teenager scoops an emergency exit sign from the rubble of a demolished building. He takes it home pries it apart and gets hit with a burst of radioactive gas. Beside a Texas highway a cop finds an odd-looking purple object that dropped from a passing truck. He picks it up not realizing it is part of a tool with an atomic-powered core. In living rooms across the country people settle into easy chairs only to get a dose of radiation. They later learn a part in their recliners was made with contaminated steel. For decades Americans have known that the mighty atom can do harm as well as good. That's why diplomats have tried to trim atomic weapon stockpiles and regulators have taken pains to prevent the release of radiation at nuclear power plants…. … Anyone who finds a radioactive-powered tool loses one or needs information on how to dispose of one properly can call: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Hot Line: (609) 292-7172 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Operations Center: (301) 816-5100 NRC Regional Office King of Prussia Pa.: (610) 337-5000 Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors Orphan Source Initiative: (800) 395-3375 U.S. Department of Energy Los Alamos National Laboratory source recovery program: (505) 665-8292 * Schoolyard yields troubling secrets Bergen Record Sunday November 21 1999 By THOMAS J. FITZGERALD and JEFF PILLETS http://www.bergen.com/news/realohio199911213.htm MARION Ohio -- One day a yellow plastic flag sprouted in the schoolyard. The next afternoon nine yellow flags were fluttering in the breeze. Soon 13 speckled the campus of the River Valley High School and Middle School. They looked like a cluster of dandelions. But to Kent and Roxanna Krumanaker whose daughter is among an alarming number of graduates diagnosed with leukemia the flags were malevolent: They looked like cancer. Each of the flags was placed by the Army Corps of Engineers to mark a spot on the 80-acre campus with a high radiation reading worthy of further study. Roxanna Krumanaker and many others believe they might be important clues to the cause of so much suffering…. ___________________________________________________ Today's Newspapers: http://prop1.org/nucnews/links.htm NucNews Archives: http://prop1.org/nucnews/briefslv.htm Subscribe NucNews: mailto:prop1@prop1.org (NucNews-Subscribe) Submit URL/Article: mailto:prop1@prop1.org (NucNews-Editor) About NucNews: http://prop1.org/nucnews/nucnews.htm Distributed without payment for research and educational purposes only in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107.