Subject: NucNews 99/11/04-06 Briefs Story-Date: 08:04 a.m. PST Saturday , November 6, 1999 Please address replies to articles to the original publisher. Please send NucNews copies? Refuting false information appreciated! 1) ABM 2) CTBT 3) Oak Ridge 4) DOE 5) Y2K 6) North Korea 7) Pakistan 8) India 9) Iraq 10) China 11) Japan 12) Germany 13) Hungary 14) Bulgaria 15) Turkey 16) Sweeden 17) Canada 18) Russia 19) Vieques 20) Colombia 21) Hanford 22) White Mesa 23) Blue Plains 24) River Bend 25) U.S. Military 26) Haiti 27) Land Mine Removal & Detection Technology 1) ABM Nuclear Stalemate Saturday November 6 1999 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/06/011l-110699-idx.html In his Nov. 1 op-ed article A Way Out of Nuclear Stalemate, Stansfield Turner argues that "President Clinton unilaterally could remove the nuclear warheads from say 1 000 missiles." But the president would face significant obstacles to unilateral "de-alerting." His hands are essentially tied on this issue by an amendment to the 2000 National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment denies funding for Department of Defense efforts to retire or dismantle deployed strategic weapons. Possible U.S.Missile Shield Alarms Europe Allies Fear Arms Race Diminished Security Ties By William Drozdiak Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday November 6 1999 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/06/176l-110699-idx.html The American campaign to develop a protective shield against ballistic nuclear missiles is provoking serious alarm among the European allies who fear that it could weaken the political and military links between the United States and Europe and trigger a dangerous arms race with Russia and China. The symbolism behind U.S. intentions to change the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty so that it may build a missile shield has not been lost on foreign leaders who have seized on the issue to warn the United States about the dangers of retreating into a fortress mentality. U.S. Pushes Missile Defense Despite Allies' Opposition By ELIZABETH BECKER N.Y. Times November 6 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/global/110699missile-us.html The administration said Friday that it could go ahead with a national missile defense system even if it meant withdrawing from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty over Russian objections… The first deployment -- 200 missile interceptors and a radar station in Alaska -- would break the ABM treaty which strictly limits the number type and placement of defensive missiles in Russia and the United States. That would require renegotiating the treaty which Moscow has been resisting. U.S. Pushes Anti-Missile System Decision could cause rift with Russians over '72 ABM Treaty Elizabeth Becker New York Times Saturday November 6 1999 San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/11/06 /MN17061.DTL The Clinton administration said yesterday that it might go ahead with a national missile defense system even if it means withdrawing from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty despite Russian objections. ``We will not permit any other country to have a veto on actions that may be needed for the defense of our nation '' Walter Slocombe undersecretary of defense for policy said in a speech at the Center for Strategic International Studies. Pentagon brass outline 'smart rock' missile defense plan By DON HUNTER Daily News reporter November 6 1999 http://www.adn.com/stories/T99110613.html A missile defense system proposed for Alaska would pair an exotic new radar at the tip of the Aleutians with interceptors housed in underground silos somewhere in the Interior Pentagon officials told a few dozen people at a public hearing here this week. Only a handful of people spoke Thursday at the hearing - the last of four in the state on a draft environmental impact statement - and most were against the idea. Opponents largely argued that the military has a history of deceiving its neighbors in rural Alaska and leaving behind abandoned bases littered with pollutants. 'Dangerous Consequences' ESSAY / By WILLIAM SAFIRE November 4 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/library/opinion/safire/110499safi.html …The Russians know a defense against individual missiles would not challenge their nuclear superpower status. They know that the development of missiles that kill missiles -- which they could steal from or wheedle out of us -- would protect them from a growing threat from Iran's Islamic fundamentalists on their border and in Chechnya. Then why their fuss? Answer: It's their main leverage on us. Using our outdated treaty with a U.S.S.R. that no longer exists Russia will extort the highest price it can in economic and military aid for graciously granting America permission to defend itself against rogue-state missiles. By posing ABM as a matter of principle B. Yeltsin will respectfully hold us up for all he can. U.N. adopts draft against U.S. anti-missile defense By Anthony Goodman Nov 05 1999 Eastern (Infoseek) UNITED NATIONS Nov 5 (Reuters) - A resolution sponsored by Russia China and Belarus aimed at pressing the United States not to proceed with building an anti-missile defence was adopted by a U.N. committee on Friday by a vote of 54 to four with 73 abstentions. The resolution which now goes to the General Assembly for endorsement calls for continued efforts to strengthen and preserve the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty between the United States and the then-Soviet Union which Washington wants to amend. The treaty limits defence systems designed to shoot down enemy missiles on the theory that such shields would only tempt the other side to build more missiles to overwhelm the defences. The United States wants to amend the treaty to permit it to build a limited defence against any attack on the United States or U.S. troops stationed abroad by what it regards as ``rogue states '' such as North Korea and Iran with a growing capacity to launch weapons of mass destruction. The U.N. resolution calls on the parties to the treaty ``to refrain from the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems for a defence of the territory of its country and not to provide a base for such a defence.'' The treaty parties are also called on not to transfer to other states or to deploy outside their national territory ABM systems or their components limited by the treaty. Under the 1972 treaty Russia has long had an ageing ABM defence to protect only Moscow. But neither country has a national missile defence such as the one the United States wants to deploy on a limited scale that would not be sufficient to neutralise Russia's large nuclear force. As an apparent warning to Washington Russia on Tuesday test fired one of its short-range anti-missile rockets for the first time in six years and on Thursday it test-fired an old nuclear-capable tactical missile to show its shelf-life had not expired. On Tuesday Russian President Boris Yeltsin also sent U.S. President Bill Clinton a warning of ``extremely dangerous consequences'' if Washington went ahead with anti-missile plans. Voting against the Russian-Chinese-Belarus resolution together with the United States were Israel Latvia and Micronesia. Thirteen of the 15 members of the European Union abstained while the other two France and Ireland voted for the resolution. The large number of abstainers also included Japan Australia New Zealand Canada and South Korea as well as most East European nations such as Bulgaria the Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Lithuania Poland Romania Slovakia and Ukraine. The resolution calls for ``renewed efforts by each of the states parties to preserve and strengthen the ABM Treaty through full and strict compliance.'' It considers that any measure undermining the purposes and provisions of the ABM treaty ``also undermines global strategic stability and world peace and the promotion of further strategic nuclear arms reduction.'' The resolution's sponsors say the ABM treaty is the cornerstone of global nuclear deterrence which would be unravelled by the construction of an anti-missile defence. Before the resolution was adopted a French amendment urging support for efforts to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery was approved by 22 votes to one with the unusually large number of 95 abstentions. The United States cast the sole negative vote against the amendment which appeared to be a bid to make the resolution more attractive to waverers. The sponsors of the resolution -- Russia China and Belarus -- were among the abstainers. House Approves Aid Bill but Some Call It Inadequate By ERIC SCHMITT N.Y. Times November 6 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/99/11/06/news/world/aid-congress.html …The United States has worked hard to prevent nuclear material in Russia from falling into the hands of terrorists. Even some proponents of safeguards have grown frustrated as the Russian authorities have restricted access to some sensitive nuclear sites. But Kenneth Luongo the head of the Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council a private group said Given the problems in Russia, the thought that devoting less money is going to give them incentive to be more cooperative, or solve the problem faster, is inaccurate. 2) CTBT EDITORIAL Washington Times 11/05/99 The imperial presidency Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has gained a certain reputation abroad among foes and friends alike for imperious high-handedness. Now the U.S. Senate has gotten a taste of Mrs. Albright's personal style though naturally she speaks in the name of the administration she serves. Even though on Oct. 13 the U.S. Senate turned down the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on nuclear weapons by a 51-48 vote at that Mrs. Albright does not think it is any reason for the administration to accept defeat. Accordingly she has written to foreign leaders to let them know not to worry the Clinton administration will continue to abide by this ill-fated document. Regarding the Senate's constitutional obligation to advise and consent on international treaties who cares? Not Mrs. Albright. This is indeed a fine signal to send to the rest of the world about how much this White House respects the practice of democratic governance. As reported by The Washington Times' Bill Gertz Tuesday Mrs. Albright sent out a formal diplomatic notice to the international community that the administration will abide by the CTBT. "We will not abandon the commitment inherent in the treaty and resume testing ourselves." While sorely disappointed indeed so Mrs. Albright wrote I want to assure you that the United States will continue to act in accordance with its obligations as a signatory under international law, and will seek reconsideration of the treaty at a later date when conditions are better suited for ratification. It is certainly fair to say that conditions are not likely to improve before the next presidential election. It appears that the administration argues it is bound by a treaty which has been turned down by the U.S. Senate simply because it says it has not given up on future ratification of the document. How bizarre. Now if Mr. Clinton wants to announce a zero-testing policy -- such as has actually been in effect throughout his presidency -- that is his prerogative. (A lot of people don't believe zero testing is advisable and may be dangerous for the reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal a reason considered sufficiently persuasive by a number of the senators who voted against the CTBT.) But to say that a treaty is binding just because it may be resubmitted is making a mockery of the U.S. Constitution and the ratification process itself. In that case each and every treaty fancied by the White House would be binding circumventing completely the responsibility of the Senate. One can assume however that cutting Congress out would not create sleepless nights for this president. In fact he has made something of a specialty of so-called recess appointments of nominees for high office judgeships and ambassadorial postings because his controversial nominees have not had the support of the Senate. In Judge Ronnie White of Missouri and former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun Mr. Clinton may however have reached his limit. "If he really sticks his finger in the eye of the Senate as far as confirmation process he may not get another person confirmed Senate majority Whip Don Nickles said yesterday. That should go for the treaty ratification process as well, and one could only hope that the Republican majority would make good on Mr. Nickles' threat. For too long Mr. Clinton has gotten away with thumbing his nose at the rule of law in this country. 3) Oak Ridge Energy Dept. Halts Plant Operations By The Associated Press November 6, 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/w/AP-Oak-Ridge-DOE.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991106/aponline055729_000.htm Safety and security concerns have prompted the Energy Department to temporarily halt operations at a uranium enrichment plant here… Officials said a security review found that workers had failed to properly keep track of inventories of nuclear materials and equipment and that there were lapses in security clearance procedures… Because no nuclear materials were being handled during the drill, DOE officials said there was no danger to employees or the public. 4) DOE Public Hearing to Consider Thousands of Nuclear Waste Shipments Through California LONE PINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 1999-- http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/991104/ca_commssn_1.html Much more than the construction and operation of a waste disposal facility in Nevada is at issue, according to Bob Loux, Executive Director of the Nevada Governor's Agency for Nuclear Projects. ``The Yucca Mountain project involves a massive and unprecedented nuclear waste shipping campaign that will directly impact millions of people in thousands of communities,'' Loux said. According to Loux, DOE has failed to disclose the shipping routes and the true scope of transportation impacts, even though this information is known. Company Seeks Funds To Buy Uranium By Katherine Rizzo Associated Press Writer Thursday, Nov. 4, 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991104/aponline174012_001.htm The United States Enrichment Corp. said Thursday that it has informally notified the government that it believes a $200 million infusion of government money will be needed to keep up its part of the bargain to buy uranium removed from Russian warheads… We believe the true financial need may be much lower or zero (Energy Secretary Bill) Richardson said. Hackers Break Into DOE Web Site By John Fleck Journal Staff Writer Thursday, November 4, 1999 http://www.abqjournal.com/scitech/1hack11-03-99.htm Cyber vandals calling themselves the Pakistan Hackerz Club" broke into a computer at the Department of Energy's Albuquerque Operations Office on Monday defacing the Web site of the nuclear weapons management center with a "Save Kashmir" message. It's the third Internet break-in in a week at the Department of Energy which is in the midst of a cyber security shake-up in the wake of allegations of lax security and espionage. No sensitive information was compromised department spokesman Al Stotts said. 5) Y2K Experts Give Final Advice on Y2K By Jim Abrams Associated Press Writer Thursday Nov. 4 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991104/aponline161943_000.htm The first of January will neither usher in the end of the world nor the end of all problems the White House senior adviser on the Y2K computer issue told a House hearing Thursday. John Koskinen said that among the Y2K "myths" that must be dispelled are "doomsday" scenarios that nuclear weapons will launch themselves or that the federal government is using the computer problem as an excuse to take control over other institutions. FOCUS-France among 6 states best prepared for Y2K 12:48 p.m. Nov 04 1999 Eastern By Gillian Handyside PARIS Nov 4 (Reuters) - France stands alongside Australia Britain Ireland Singapore and Hong-Kong as one of the six countries best prepared for the millennium bug according to an international group studying countries' readiness for Y2K. But the group Global 2000 said nine states out of 49 studied in September still needed to make ``significant improvements'' to ensure energy water and other key sectors were not disrupted by the dawn of the new millennium which could wreak havoc with computers unable to recognise the 2000 date. These included Russia and a handful of countries in Latin America Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe Global 2000's Jim Devlin told Reuters in a telephone interview. Devlin said the United States was not in the top six because it had a water distribution problem. He gave no further details. Because of the sensitivity of the issue Devlin declined to name the countries on the red list other than Russia which he said was viewed as the most serious case by all organisations studying the millennium bug. ``They (the Russians) have admitted their attitude is 'we'll fix it when it breaks' '' Devlin said. Global 2000 is an informal organisation of banks securities firms and insurance companies set up to minimise the risks to the global financial markets arising from the change of century. It regularly updates a survey of Y2K readiness in seven sectors -- financial firms clearing and settlement bodies telecommunications transport water energy and government administrations -- in the 49 countries it considers to be most important for global financial markets. Devlin said that while Y2K preparedness was ``satisfactory'' in the large majority of countries monitored at the time of the last survey in September there were still nine countries on Global 2000's red list of areas requiring ``significant improvement.'' Problems covered a total of 15 sectors he said. RUSSIA ENERGY AND WATER STILL MAJOR CONCERNS ``Most of these are in the energy and water sectors. We are concerned that at this late date countries are not paying attention to this '' he said pointing out that power failures and a lack of water for fire safety and sanitation could oblige businesses to close. Russia was on the red list for all seven sectors he said. Six states had energy problems including ``two small states'' in Latin America and several in Asia-Pacific. Five countries in Latim America Asia and Eastern Europe had water problems. There were no serious problems in the financial services sector which is subject to stiff regulatory control he said. In the energy field the main problem was with embedded chips which are found in the control equipment of both nuclear and non-nuclear systems Devlin said. ``Failure to deal with this could cause energy sources to cut out leaving people without heat or power. We are not talking about reactors blowing up '' he said. Without saying whether they were on the red list Devlin said neither China India and Indonesia was sufficiently prepared for the millennium bug including in the energy sector. China and Indonesia were ``moving in the right direction'' but Indonesia was ``still a concern '' he said in spite of some improvements in financial services. He said energy problems were ``not so much nuclear in the case of China and India.'' French Industry Secretary Chrisitan Pierret said on Thursday France had spent 120 billion francs ($19.18 billion) since 1997 on the millennium bug. Large enterprises major public services the administration and the Parisian financial market were all prepared for the change of century Pierret said. 6) North Korea Hill Study Warns of N. Korean Arms Washington Post 11/04/99 North Korea's development of weapons of mass destruction is posing an increasing threat to the United States and its allies according to a congressional study. In addition to chemical and biological weapons there is significant evidence that North Korea is continuing to develop nuclear weapons despite a commitment five years ago to remain nuclear-free the report found. Also a dramatic improvement in North Korea's missile capabilities now permits the country to reach U.S. territory with a "high explosive chemical biological or possibly nuclear weapon according to the report. Currently the United States is unable to defend against this threat." House Republicans see N. Korea as nuke threat By Toni Marshall and Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES November 4 1999 http://www.washtimes.com/news/news2.html AP Story: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/w/AP-US-North-Korea.html House Republicans in a looming showdown with President Clinton over North Korea warned yesterday that the communist state is secretly attempting to develop nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States… The report cited North Korea's recent development of a multi-stage rocket that is capable of reaching the United States adding that the missile could deliver "chemical biological and possibly nuclear weapons." 7) Pakistan U.S. Willing to 'Engage' Pakistan Rulers By John Lancaster Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday November 6 1999 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/06/076l-110699-idx.html Administration officials told a Pakistani envoy yesterday that the United States is eager to see a timetable for the restoration of the democracy including a schedule for provincial and national elections administration officials said. At the same time the officials emphasized their readiness to work with the government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf the army chief of staff who last month led the bloodless coup that toppled the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. 8) India India's Bias Washington Post Letters Saturday November 6 1999 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/06/017l-110699-idx.html Carin Fischer muddies the historical waters when she writes in her Oct. 23 letter that: "Since the end of colonial rule India has endeavored . . . to avoid alignment with any superpower."… although Nehru was always highly critical of American nuclear testing in 1960 when the Soviets ended an unofficial testing moratorium with the detonation of the most powerful atomic blast in history he had almost nothing critical to say. India admits plan to test missile Australian Broadcasting News November 6 1999 http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/weekly/newsnat-6nov1999-108.htm India says it will test a long-range ballistic missile soon the first admission from the Government that such a missile exists. India first tested a medium-range ballistic missile in March 1993 and earlier this year launched a longer-range missile with a range of 2 300 kilometres. Announcing the plan but giving no more details Mr Rawat said the Government would unveil a multi-billion dollar military modernisation plan in Parliament before the Budget session beginning next March. 9) Iraq Iraq Rules Out New Monitoring Tied to Suspension of Sanctions By ELIZABETH OLSON N.Y. Times November 4 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/110499iraq-us.html Iraq's foreign minister said Wednesday that his government would reject any U.N. move to suspend economic sanctions in return for Iraq's cooperation with a new weapons-monitoring program…Iraq insists that sanctions be completely lifted not suspended Sahaf said. France Russia and China have submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council calling for the suspension of sanctions if Iraq accepts a new commission to monitor its weapons programs. 10) China Chinese Nuclear Buildup Predicted Beijing Is Expected to Counter U.S. Anti-Missile Defense Plan By Joseph Fitchett International Herald Tribune Saturday November 6 1999 http://www.iht.com/IHT/TODAY/SAT/FPAGE/nuke.2.html Western specialists are increasingly convinced that the strongest moves to counter the new U.S. emphasis on anti-missile defenses will come not from Russia as widely forecast but from China…''The dirty little secret is that until now China has never had a serious nuclear force but Chinese leaders seem to be deciding that they are going to need something that is more credible '' a National Security Council official confided recently in Washington. Prueher on hold Washington Times 11/05/99 Sen. Robert C. Smith Thursday quietly slammed an indefinite "hold" on the nomination of retired Adm. Joseph Prueher to be the next ambassador to China. The hold prevents the Senate from voting on the ambassadorship and could kill it if the Senate recesses without voting. The nomination seemed almost assured last week after Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms told Adm. Prueher's wife to "pack" for Beijing. Now it is in limbo. Mr. Smith New Hampshire Republican is opposing Adm. Prueher the former commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific because he views the admiral as too pro-Beijing. The admiral has a reputation in the Pentagon of being pro-Beijing. He so upset some officials during his tour at Pacific Command he was once dubbed Panda-hugging Prueher, we are told. Meanwhile the departure of Mr. Smith from the chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces -- a power seat overseeing both nuclear weapons and missile defenses -- has set off a scramble for the post. Senate aides say Sen. Wayne Allard Colorado Republican will assume the post leaving his post as chairman of the personnel subcommittee. U.S. and China Near Agreement On Military Ties Visit to Washington Planned For High-Ranking Army Officer By John Pomfret Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday November 4 1999; http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/04/178l-110499-idx.html BEIJING Nov. 3The United States and China are close to agreement on resuming military contacts which were suspended by Beijing after the May 7 bombing of China's embassy in Yugoslavia sources here said… Sources said Lt. Gen. Xiong Guangkai a deputy chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army could travel to Washington as early as December. Xiong would be visiting the United States for the third in a series of annual consultations started by the Pentagon and China's Defense Ministry. Xiong the former chief of military intelligence who is believed to be close to President Jiang Zemin and is known for his somewhat anti-American views is considered the gatekeeper on U.S.-China military ties. China: U.S. Russia Start Arms Race The Associated Press Thursday Nov. 4 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991104/aponline100650_000.htm Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said she had no details and thus could not confirm Tuesday's test-firing of an anti-missile missile reported by the Interfax news agency. But she said the reported test grew out of Washington's plans to amend the 27-year-old Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and build a national missile defense system known as NMD. "It must be pointed out that this is a direct consequence of the U.S. attempt to revise the ABM and develop NMD Zhang said at a regular media briefing. It will undermine the strategic balance and stability and spark a new round of an arms race." 11) Japan Japan Sees Quake Risk at Nuclear Sites Experts question criteria used in placement of reactors. But regulators firms point to safety measures. By VALERIE REITMAN Times Staff Writer http://www.latimes.com/news/science/science/19991106/t000101011.html Japan's recent accident at a uranium processing plant which exposed safety flaws in the country's aggressive nuclear energy program has renewed concerns that an earthquake could trigger another crisis if it were to strike close to reactors or nuclear-related facilities. Japanese activists and some seismologists point out that some of this earthquake-prone archipelago's 51 nuclear reactors are built in areas where quakes are likely. They also contend that four dozen nuclear-related treatment and processing facilities could also be prone to radiation leaks in the event the "big one" strikes. 12) Germany German Minister Has Nuke Concerns By David Briscoe Associated Press Writer Thursday Nov. 4 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991104/aponline113407_000.htm Europe is fearful that the Senate vote against the nuclear test ban treaty could signal a change in American strategy as the world's only superpower Germany's foreign minister said today. "This would make us all very unhappy Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told reporters at the German ambassador's residence before meeting with administration officials and members of Congress. 13) Hungary AP Corrects NATO Story The Associated Press Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991103/aponline173705_000.htm MOSCOW The Associated Press erroneously reported Nov. 2 that Francois le Blevennec, a spokesman at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, said the current strategic balance in Europe makes it unnecessary for Hungary to deploy nuclear missiles. Le Blevennec did not speak of any strategic balance, saying only that when Hungary joined NATO this year deploying nuclear missiles in that country was considered undesirable and unnecessary." 14) Bulgaria Bulgaria gives in to EU pressure over N-plant By Liliana Semerdjieva (Reuters) Nov 04 1999 Bulgaria gave in on Thursday to pressure from the European Union and said it was ready to negotiate early closure of four old reactors at the Kozloduy nuclear plant in exchange for financial compensation. Parliament after a fierce debate voted 146-68 to give a mandate to the government for talks with the EU over the closure of the Soviet-designed reactors which the West deems unsafe. The EU has made early closure of the reactors a precondition for extending an invitation to the impoverished Balkan state to start direct membership talks with the bloc. The decision is expected to be taken at a EU summit in December. ``We will negotiate favourable conditions for Bulgaria '' Prime Minister Ivan Kostov told the chamber. ``The mandate will not lead to an early closure of the reactors without getting compensation for the losses.'' Under Bulgaria's energy strategy approved in March reactors one and two should be decommissioned in 2004 and 2005 respectively and reactors three and four in 2008 and 2010. Bulgarian officials have argued that earlier closure of the 440-megawatt reactors would cut the country's export earnings and force it either to import expensive power or use more environmentally harmful coal power plants. The Kozloduy plant on the Danube River also has two more modern 1 000 megawatt reactors and produces over 40 percent of Bulgaria's electricity. Ordinary Bulgarians are afraid that they may suffer power cuts and rationing after losing such a power source. Kostov said Bulgaria severely hit by the crisis in Kosovo which had hampered transport and trade ties with central Europe could not bear additional losses from the closure of the reactors which produce the country's cheapest energy. ``Without compensations the structure of the Bulgarian energy would be jeopardised '' Kostov said. It may also affect the deals already reached over electricity exports to Turkey and undermine revenues of the National Electricity Company he added 15) Turkey Planned Turk nuke plant imperils eastern Med -foes By Michele Kambas Nov 05 1999 Eastern NICOSIA Nov 5 (Reuters) - A nuclear power plant to be built near a seismic fault line on Turkey's southern coast could have devastating effects in the eastern Mediterranean in the event of an earthquake anti-nuclear campaigners said on Friday. The massive earthquake that hit northwestern Turkey in August and killed about 15 000 people should serve notice that creating nuclear facilities in a tremor-prone region is too dangerous they said. ``It is like creating a pool of gasoline in the Middle East and an earthquake being the matchstick '' said David Martin research director of the Canada-based Nuclear Awareness Project a nongovernmental organisation. The project at Akkuyu Bay which has been on the drawing board for years is part of Turkey's efforts to diversify energy resources to meet rapidly growing domestic demand. It is strongly opposed by environmentalists but also locals the campaigners told a news conference in Nicosia Cyprus. The eastern Mediterranean island is 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of the proposed site for the Akkuyu plant. Turkey collected bids in 1997 from three international consortia led by the American White Westinghouse Canada's AECL and Franco-German Nuclear Power International (NPI). The government has put off deciding on bids until the end of 1999. REAL QUAKE RISKS IGNORED LOBBYISTS SAY Martin heading up a lobby in Canada that wants to see government-controlled AECL pull out of the bidding process said the real earthquake risks at Akkuyu had been overlooked. However he said the project was strongly backed by the Canadian government. Martin presented a report suggesting that construction specifications drawn up on the basis of Turkish technical studies in the region were inadequate because they would withstand only mild earthquakes. Those specifications assume that the worst earthquake would cause horizontal shaking equal to 25 percent of the force of gravity but should be upgraded because horizontal shaking of between 50 and 70 percent could potentially occur it said. Recent research has indicated that the active Ecemis fault runs close to the planned plant but such evidence has been disregarded by authorities because it would mean further delays in construction and higher design costs the report said. That finding is disputed by the bidders. More than 31 earthquakes measuring from between 2.9 to 4.7 on the Richter scale have been recorded within a vicinity of 99 kilometres (55 miles) of Akkuyu since 1973 the report added. ``If there is an accident from an earthquake at an Akkuyu plant it would make the Chernobyl accident look like a motorway car pileup '' said Jim Karygiannis a liberal member of the Canadian parliament. The lobbyists said they would visit Lebanon and Israel next to canvas support for their campaign against the plant. 16) Sweeden Stockholm court rejects Sydkraft N-power complaint Reuters Nov 05 1999 Eastern STOCKHOLM Nov 5 (Reuters) - Stockholm city court on Friday turned down a complaint by power group Sydkraft bringing a Swedish nuclear reactor shut-down plan one step closer to reality. The court rejected Sydkraft's call for it to force Swedish government to postpone a plan to close its two Barseback nuclear power units in southern Sweden until after a European Commission ruling on the issue. Sydkraft Sweden's largest private power group said it would appeal the decision in a higher court. ``To ensure Sydkraft's best interest we need to take legal action to protect us against any possible situation which might arise '' Sydkraft chief executive Lars Frithiof said in a statement. The first reactor is due to shut by the end of November and the second in 2001 as part of a long-term government programme to end nuclear power production in Sweden. There is no deadline for the Commission to rule on complaints about discriminatory decisions that affect business. Sydkraft filed a complaint to the European Union last year asking it to examine a Swedish government plan to close its Barseback power plant. It said closure would give an advantage to its main competitor state-owned Vattenfall. ``If we close the reactor and we are proved right at a later point Sydkraft risks serious and irreparable damages '' Frithiof said noting ``constructive'' talks with the government. ``Negotiations between the government and Sydkraft over a voluntary shutdown of Barseback one has been reopened in a constructive spirit '' he said. There are no specific plans to shut down any of Sweden's other 10 nuclear power reactors. Sweden's controversial shutdown plan dates back to a 1980 referendum which laid the groundwork for a nuclear power phase-out programme to be completed by 2010. Around 46 percent of Sweden's power output is nuclear power. 17) Canada Canadians protest nuclear fuel shipment UPI November 4 1999 http://webcrawler-news.excite.com/news/u/991104/21/international-nukeprotest CORNWALL Ontario Nov. 4 (UPI) Residents of Cornwall Ontario and nearby communities turned out Thursday to join anti-nuclear activists protesting plans to import weapons-grade plutonium from Russia for a test burn in Canadian reactors… The plan to import the plutonium has been approved by Prime Minister Jean Chretien in support of the world disarmament program in which Russia and the United States are to dismantle nuclear weapons built during the Cold War. 18) Russia Russia Power To Be Manual on Y2K By The Associated Press November 3 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Y2K-Russia.html MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's electricity monopoly will shift its huge grid to manual control on Dec. 31 to ensure it avoids ``millennium bug'' outages system officials said Wednesday… Although Russia has proportionately fewer computers than more developed countries it also apparently has done less to prepare them for the new year than have Western countries. Washington Post 11/04/99 START I will be dead, all mutual exchanges of information will be ended, hundreds of verification missions that both sides carry out on a reciprocal basis will be discontinued. -- Russian Maj. Gen. Vladimir Dvorkin warning the United States about the repercussions if it builds a missile-defense system. --Page A25 Russia Shows Off Nuclear Force By Vladimir Isachenkov Associated Press Writer Thursday Nov. 4 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991104/aponline150155_000.htm In recent days the military staged a well-publicized firing of an anti-missile rocket talked of putting multiple warheads on missiles capable of reaching the United States and acquired more strategic bombers. The moves are widely seen as a reaction to Washington's call to amend the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to allow both nations defenses against limited nuclear attacks by other states. Russian leaders say the U.S. move could unravel decades of nuclear arms control and push the world into a new arms race. Russia Test-Fires Interceptor Missile Military Lobs Warning Shot to Counter Talk of U.S. National Defense System By David Hoffman Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday November 4 1999; http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/04/173l-110499-idx.html The test missile was not identified but it is among those installed in the Moscow anti-ballistic missile system of radars and missiles built around the capital in the Soviet era. The 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty allowed two such systems and a subsequent protocol limited it to one… Originally the interceptors around Moscow were armed with low-yield nuclear warheads. The missiles were not intended to hit incoming missiles but rather to explode near them. However news reports in the last year have said that Russia removed the nuclear warheads from the interceptors around the capital. 19) Vieques Caribbean Showdown Washington Post Saturday November 6 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/06/009l-110699-idx.html The Navy's latest gambit is to prepare to send in a carrier battle group for the live-fire training the Navy insists is essential to prepare the group for an early Persian Gulf/Mediterranean patrol. Will the commander in chief feel up to conducting this training in the face of the massive Puerto Rican protests now being planned if the Navy resumes training fire? Would he face down the criticism he could expect to draw at home if he restricted the training? To head off a crisis Washington badly needs to absorb recent turns in the Vieques debate. 20) Colombia Colombian Rebels Tap E. Europe For Arms Guerrillas' Firepower Superior to Army's By Douglas Farah Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday November 4 1999 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/04/284l-110499-idx.html Despite Colombian and U.S. efforts to stem the flow of drugs and guns that have helped build Latin America's most powerful guerrilla insurgency the Marxist-led rebels are amassing a sophisticated arsenal from new sources in the the former Soviet Bloc that is rapidly changing the balance of power in Colombia's civil war officials say. 21) Hanford Wildlife Refuge to Be Expanded for Protection of Pacific Salmon From Los Angeles Times Wire Services November 6 1999 http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/19991106/t000101024.html President Clinton announced a major expansion Friday of a national wildlife refuge along the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest in order to provide protection for Pacific salmon. The White House said management responsibility of 57 000 acres that was part of the top-secret project to build the atomic bomb will be transferred from the Energy Department to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect wild salmon and preserve the river's ecology. 22) White Mesa Leavitt Residents Of Blanding Discuss Uranium Tailings BY LISA CHURCH SPECIAL TO THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Saturday November 6 1999 http://www.sltrib.com/1999/nov/11061999/utah/44687.htm Gov. Mike Leavitt took on residents concerned about the White Mesa uranium processing plant during a town hall meeting on Friday. Residents like Yolanda Badbach who lives downwind of the plant had concerns about how the uranium tailings near the Colorado River were affecting residents and life in the river. Contaminants from the tailings are seeping into the river and threatening three endangered fish species. 23) Blue Plains Plant Warnings Go Unheeded City Ignores Lapses in Handling Toxic Chemical at Blue Plains By Eric Lipton Washington Post Staff Writer Friday November 5 1999 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/05/194l-110599-idx.html When the warning sirens sound in the chlorine chamber of the District's sewage treatment plant--a facility that holds one of the region's largest supplies of toxic chemicals--city records show the workers there often have a simple reaction: They disconnect the alarm. It is one of many routines at the squat brick structure known as Chlorine Building I that threaten not only the around-the-clock operations at the Blue Plains Sewage Treatment Plant in Southwest Washington but also potentially the health of thousands of people who live or work in the area said three former or current safety technicians assigned to the plant. 24) River Bend Nuclear Reactor Back Online (Louisiana Headlines) Thursday November 4 http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/local/state/louisiana/story.html?s=v/rs /19991104/la/index_1.html#4 (ST. FRANCISVILLE) -- The River Bend Nuclear Power Plant is slowly coming back online after the reactor generator suddenly shut down five days ago. Plant engineers say the generator automatically jumped off the multi-state power grid. They believe repair workers tripped it from a nearby power transmission site. While officials reported no outages this time Entergy directors say they are concerned after a summertime record of brownouts in south Louisiana. 25) U.S. Military Army Redesign Proposal Meets Resistance in Armored Ranks By Bradley Graham Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday November 6 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/06/121l-110699-idx.html Behind plans announced last month to develop more agile combat vehicles and medium-weight brigades is a decision by the top brass to rethink the question: What's a tank for anyway? Seemingly straightforward the question is actually subversive. It could undermine the Army's traditional emphasis on armor challenge the notion that wars are won in massive land battles with overwhelming firepower and dissolve the mystique of the cavalry. It also could upset the Army's best-laid budget plans. The Hole in the Bush Defense Plan By Michael O'Hanlon Friday November 5 1999 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/05/055l-110599-idx.html In September Texas Gov. George W. Bush laid out his initial vision for U.S. defense policy. His speech contained a sound proposal to increase spending on military research and development. The governor also advocated deploying strategic missile defenses further increasing military pay and rethinking the desirability of some overseas military deployments. One overarching problem complicates Mr. Bush's proposals however: He cannot begin to pay for them. His support for tax cuts is at direct odds with his Pentagon plan. Yet while Bill Bradley and Al Gore constantly challenge the affordability of one another's agendas Bush's ideas have not yet been subject to similar review. 26) Haiti U.S. Pressed to Surrender Secret Files of Haitian Militia By Colum Lynch Special to The Washington Post Saturday November 6 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/06/108l-110699-idx.html UNITED NATIONS Nov. 5When the United States intervened in Haiti in September 1994 ending a military dictatorship American GIs seized 60 000 documents from the headquarters of the Haitian army and the regime's notorious paramilitary organization FRAPH. Five years later most of those papers remain warehoused in the basement of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince prompting charges from human rights activists and U.N. officials that Washington is delaying justice for former Haitian leaders. 27) Land Mine Removal & Detection Technology Sniffing Out New Ways to Uncover Land Mines By CATHERINE GREENMAN N.Y. Times November 4 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/circuits/articles/04mine.html …one of the most promising projects uses a technology called nuclear quadrupole resonance or N.Q.R. Unlike metal detectors N.Q.R. detectors seek out the explosive material rather than the metal surrounding the land mine… Nuclear quadrupole resonance is similar in principle to nuclear magnetic resonance the type of technology used in hospital imaging systems. But where the hospital systems use large magnets to generate a nuclear magnetic response N.Q.R. uses a radio wave antenna that has a magnetic field associated with it.