UK's Blair says no plan to expand nuclear power

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

Index:



UK's Blair says no plan to expand nuclear power

JAERI begins moving Mutsu's spent nuclear fuel

Jury Rules for Beryllium Supplier

Common Ground Sought for Nuclear Security in 21st Century

American Rivers Backgrounder on Today's House Hydro & Nuclear Hearing

Australia to raise nuclear concerns with N.Korea

Confab on nuclear safeguards begins, Japan urges enforcement

=================================



UK's Blair says no plan to expand nuclear power

  

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair said on 

Wednesday he had no plans to extend Britain's nuclear power 

capability a day after he ordered a root-and-branch review of the 

country's energy needs. 



"I don't actually think that an expansion of nuclear power is on the 

agenda, however what is on the agenda is reviewing our energy 

requirements for the future," Blair told parliament. 



"In respect of the issue of nuclear power, our policy has not 

changed." 



His Labour Party's election manifesto was more equivocal, saying coal 

and nuclear energy "currently play important roles in ensuring 

diversity in our sources of electricity generation." 



Energy Minister Brian Wilson, who will head the review, said on 

Tuesday it would look at what role, if any, the nuclear industry 

should play in future. 



Speculation has been rife that the review, which will be conducted by 

the Performance and Innovation Unit which reports direct to Blair, 

will sanction an extension of nuclear power. 



Experts say Britain will become a net importer of oil and gas in the 

future. The government's investment in renewable energy sources -- 

solar and wind power and the like -- is unlikely to fill the gap. 



Nuclear power stations generate around 30 percent of Britain's 

electricity. Renewables currently meet less than three percent of 

electricity demand. 

----------------



JAERI begins moving Mutsu's spent nuclear fuel



MUTSU, Japan, June 27 (Kyodo) - The Tokyo-based Japan Atomic Energy 

Research Institute (JAERI) on Wednesday started moving spent nuclear 

fuel removed earlier from the nuclear ship Mutsu to its Tokai 

Research Establishment northeast of Tokyo. 



JAERI plans to transport the roughly 2.6 tons of spent nuclear fuel 

kept at its Mutsu Establishment in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture in 

northeastern Japan to the Tokai Research Establishment in Tokaimura, 

Ibaraki Prefecture, in three shipments during the current fiscal 

year, institute officials said. 



JAERI will transport about 0.9 ton of spent nuclear fuel in the first 

shipment, the officials said. 



As loading of fuel onto the 1,300-ton Hinoura Maru, a special 

transportation ship, will take three days, the fuel is expected to 

leave port on Friday or Saturday, they said. 



Containers carrying the fuel were transported to the port of 

Sekinehama in Mutsu by heavy truck. 



JAERI has not revealed a detailed schedule or shipping route for the 

fuel, citing security considerations. 



The fuel was originally to be shipped last year, but the schedule was 

pushed back in the wake of the 1999 nuclear accident at Tokaimura, 

some 120 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, Japan's worst nuclear 

disaster in which two people died. 



>From around 2006, the fuel is scheduled to be reprocessed at the 

Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute's reprocessing plant in 

Tokaimura and uranium and plutonium are expected to be extracted. 



Mutsu was built as Japan's first nuclear ship in 1969, but in 1974 

experienced a radiation leakage accident. In 1991, it finished a 

series of test voyages, and the nuclear reactor was removed in 1995. 

----------------



Jury Rules for Beryllium Supplier



GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) - June 27 - The company that supplied beryllium to 

a former nuclear weapons plant was not responsible for the illness of 

four workers who said they were sickened from exposure to the metal, 

a jury decided Tuesday. 



The six-person jury ruled that Cleveland-based Brush Wellman was not 

negligent, and no damages were awarded to the plaintiffs. 



Jurors told attorneys they believed the former employees of the now-

closed Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant assumed some risk with the 

job, said Al Stewart, attorney for the plaintiffs. 



The workers had asserted that Brush Wellman failed to warn them about 

the metal's effects. The Jefferson County District Court jury found 

that poor management at Rocky Flats was to blame. 



The plaintiffs have filed separate claims against the government; 

Rocky Flats operators; Dow Chemical; and Rockwell International. 



Brush Wellman attorney Jeffrey Ubersux said the jury's verdict 

confirms that ``Brush Wellman had provided adequate warnings to the 

users of its products.'' 



Beryllium is a hard, gray metal that is extracted from ore, refined 

into a very fine powder and used in manufacturing nuclear weapons, 

cars, cell phones and other products. 



Chronic beryllium disease inflames and scars the lungs, making it 

difficult to breathe. Of the four workers in court Thursday, two were 

using oxygen tanks. 



The plaintiffs had no comment on Tuesday's verdict. Stewart said no 

decision has been made on whether his clients will appeal. 



On the Net: 



Brush Wellman: http://www.brushwellman.com 



Department of Energy: http://www.energy.gov 



Dow Chemical: http://ww w.dow.com

-----------------



Common Ground Sought for Nuclear Security in 21st Century

  

Lawmakers Introduce 'Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 2001'  



WASHINGTON, June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to decrease the 

dangers posed by nuclear weapons in the post-Cold War era, Senator 

Mary Landrieu (D- LA), Representative John Spratt (D-SC), and 

Representative Ellen Tauscher (D- CA) today introduced the Nuclear 

Threat Reduction Act of 2001 (NTRA).  The bill is based on three 

principles: reducing the numbers of nuclear warheads, removing as 

many weapons as feasible from high alert status, and preventing the 

diversion of Russian nuclear weapons, expertise, and weapons-usable 

materials. 



"This bill reflects the broad consensus -- including President Bush 

and many top defense experts -- that the United States can and should 

take the lead to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons resulting, not 

just from global war, but also from accident, miscalculation, 

terrorism, or unauthorized use," said Senator Mary Landrieu, who 

chairs the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and 

Capabilities. 



Despite improved relations, Russia and the U.S. have thousands of 

nuclear weapons on high alert, ready to launch in minutes.  Russia's 

weak economy has compromised the safety of its nuclear arsenal, 

creating the distinct possibility of proliferation to "rogue" states 

or terrorists and a nuclear disaster affecting American citizens. 



"The legislation we are introducing today builds on this and other 

concerns," said Representative Spratt, the second ranking Democrat on 

the House Armed Services Committee.  "This bill seeks to shrink the 

size of our nuclear arsenals, remove as many weapons as feasible from 

'high alert,' and beef up our investment in cooperative threat 

reduction programs.  These goals should not be controversial.  In one 

form or another, each of these ends has been endorsed by President 

Bush and by an array of defense experts, including Senator Sam Nunn 

and Senator Howard Baker.  We recommend them in the hope of finding 

common ground." 



"As the world's only remaining superpower, it's up to us to take the 

lead and engage Russia in improving the security of both our aging 

stockpiles of nuclear weapons," said Representative Ellen Tauscher, 

who holds a seat on the House Armed Services Committee.  Rep. 

Tauscher is also the Ranking Member on the panel that oversees the 

National Nuclear Security Administration, which was created by 

Congress in 1999 to manage America's nuclear weapons program in light 

of security and management concerns at the Energy Department. 



Reducing U.S., Russian Nuclear Warheads   



The NTRA establishes a U.S. policy to seek agreement with Russia to 

cut the two countries' nuclear weapons to the lowest numbers 

consistent with U.S. national security.  The bill repeals the 

existing law that prevents the reduction of strategic forces below 

START I levels (6,000) and suggests unilateral cuts, where necessary, 

to spur agreement on overall reductions by both sides.  But it defers 

to the President on the magnitude of the cuts. 



"While nuclear weapons remain a vital part of our deterrent, we are 

holding on to legacy systems that only made sense in the context of 

the Cold War.  They do not enhance our national security, but they do 

drain away resources needed to combat today's evolving threats," said 

Senator Landrieu. "President Bush indicated his interest in nuclear 

weapons reductions during the campaign.  In the wake of the recent 

summit, I believe we have an excellent opportunity to find bipartisan 

agreement on this critical issue." 



Removing Weapons from High Alert Status   



The NTRA declares that it is U.S. policy to join with Russia to 

remove as many weapons as feasible from "high alert" status -- 

weapons poised to "launch on warning" -- while meeting national 

security needs, an idea President Bush proposed as a candidate. 



"A good first step for the United States would be to take the weapons 

off high alert that would be removed from our nuclear arsenal under 

START II and to strongly urge the Russians to follow suit.  This 

would instantly help make the world safer while preserving America's 

national security," said Representative Tauscher. 



Russia's strategic infrastructure continues to deteriorate.  Russian 

systems reportedly malfunction frequently, including switching to 

combat mode for no apparent reason, and there are gaps in Russia's 

early warning systems. In 1995, Russian radar operators believed they 

had detected a missile headed for Russia.  An alarmed President 

Yeltsin, with Russia's "nuclear suitcase" by his side, immediately 

conferred with top advisors.  Minutes before the deadline to 

counterattack, Russian senior officers determined the rocket -- 

launched for scientific research -- was headed out to sea.  Norway 

had informed Russia of the planned launch a few weeks in advance, but 

word had not reached the proper authorities. 



Accelerating Programs to Prevent Nuclear Proliferation or Diversion   





The NTRA would increase funding for nonproliferation programs to $2 

billion next year to prevent the diversion of the Russian nuclear 

arsenal and the expertise of unemployed and underpaid Russian nuclear 

scientists. 



"These increases are substantial, but still fall short of what was 

recommended by the recent Baker-Cutler Task Force," said 

Representative Spratt.  The bipartisan Task Force, headed by former 

Senate Republican Leader Howard Baker and former White House counsel 

Lloyd Cutler, assessed the U.S.- Russia non-proliferation programs 

and urged that they be accelerated to address our "most urgent unmet 

national security threat." 



Russia has enough fissile material to build at least 60,000 weapons.  

Much of it is alarmingly insecure, as evidenced by a recent report 

citing open buckets of plutonium housed in complexes without a 

perimeter fence, leaving it vulnerable to exploitation by "rogue" 

states and terrorists.  As a remedy, the NTRA calls on President Bush 

to submit a strategic plan to secure and neutralize all weapons-

usable material in Russia during the next eight years. 



"We have arrived at a critical moment in time where we must take 

steps to reduce the nuclear threat we face, as comprehensively and 

urgently as possible," said Ambassador Karl F. Inderfurth, Senior 

Advisor to The Justice Project's Nuclear Threat Reduction Campaign. 

"The three steps proposed in the bill introduced by Senator Landrieu 

and Representatives Spratt and Tauscher are ones that can and must be 

taken now." 



The Nuclear Threat Reduction Campaign, a program of The Justice 

Project, is working for pragmatic and effective steps to make it 

increasingly unlikely that nuclear weapons will ever be used.  The 

Justice Project is a national, non-profit, non-partisan organization 

dedicated to fighting injustice and creating a more humane and just 

world. 



Additional information and text of the bill are available online at 

http://www.nuclearthreatreduction.org . 

----------------



American Rivers Backgrounder on Today's House Hydro & Nuclear Hearing

  

WASHINGTON, June 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- As the House Energy and Air 

Quality Subcommittee prepares for Wednesday's oversight hearing on 

the regulation of hydroelectric dams, American Rivers cautioned 

members of Congress not to roll back environmental protections for 

the sake of a few extra kilowatts.  Scheduled for 10:30 AM in 2123 

Rayburn House Office Building, the hearing will look at the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) relicensing process for 

hydropower dams.  Anticipated witnesses include representatives from 

FERC, the Government Accounting Office (GAO), Idaho Power Company, 

the state of Vermont, and Liz Birnbaum, Director of Government 

Affairs for American Rivers.  No administration witnesses or 

representatives of state government are scheduled to testify. 



"The utility industry and their Administration allies are 

exaggerating the energy crunch and lobbying Congress hard to relax 

environmental protections at hydropower dams," said Liz Birnbaum, 

Director of Government Affairs for American Rivers.  "Their proposed 

reforms are about generating more profits, not more electricity." 



The Federal Power Act grants authority to FERC and several other 

federal and state agencies to regulate the operation of non-federal 

hydropower dams on public rivers. Every 30 to 50 years, a dam owner 

must apply to FERC for a new operating license. This licensing 

process requires consideration of ecological health, water quality, 

and recreation so that operation of dams continues to be in the 

public interest. 



"Hydropower licensing is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to 

modernize these dams to protect our rivers and the benefits they 

provide to local communities," added Birnbaum.  "Any changes to this 

process should improve environmental quality and recreational 

opportunities, not diminish them." 



Below are excerpts from Ms. Birnbaum's testimony: 



-- In the scramble to find a magic bullet for the energy crisis, 

Congress and the Administration should be careful not to over-rely on 

our nation's already troubled rivers.  Through careful and deliberate 

evaluation involving checks and balances of a variety of agencies, we 

can bring hydropower dams up to modern environmental standards 

without compromising power generation. 



-- If awarded a license, utilities get to monopolize a river for a 

half a century with little oversight and no motivation to make 

environmental improvements.  It's perfectly reasonable that we take 

this once-in-a-lifetime chance to require them to modernize the way 

they operate their dams on our rivers. 



-- "The most significant constraint on expansion of US hydropower 

generation is physical; most of the best locations for hydropower 

generation have already been developed." (President's Energy Plan, 5-

18) 



-- According to FERC, relicensing results in an average power loss of 

only 1.6 percent per project.  That's less than 0.04 percent of our 

nation's electricity generation.  When compared with the 5 percent 

annual fluctuations in demand due to weather, this is an incredibly 

small number.  Industry is not interested in power generation as much 

as profits. 



-- Our nation's rivers and fisheries are facing a crisis of slow but 

steady extinction.  Resource agencies with expertise in these areas 

and mandates that minimize environmental harm are in the best 

position to address this threat.  We can endeavor to find better ways 

to generate hydropower and new sources of energy but we cannot bring 

back species once they have gone extinct. 



Also testifying at the hearing will be FERC and GAO, each of whom 

released reports in May, about the hydropower licensing process. 

Responding to Congressional direction to find ways to "reduce the 

cost and time of obtaining a  1/8hydropower dam 3/8 license," FERC 

proposed to dramatically weaken the authority of states, tribes, and 

federal fish and wildlife agencies' to protect the resources in their 

charge from the impacts of hydropower dams. 



FERC's report was published just days after the General Accounting 

Office concluded that until FERC improves its data collection on the 

cost and timing of its process, "FERC will not be able to reach 

informed decisions on the need for further administrative reforms or 

legislative changes to the licensing process." 



"The General Accounting Office's report illustrates that the 

hydropower industry and their lobbyists have been pacing the halls of 

Congress with a solution in search of a problem," said Andrew 

Fahlund, Policy Director for Hydropower Programs at American Rivers. 



"Congress should not consider any changes to the licensing process 

until FERC can convincingly demonstrate that the process is flawed," 

explained Fahlund.  "The risk to the long-term health of our nation's 

rivers is simply too high to rely on flawed analysis from FERC or 

anecdotes from the hydropower industry." 



American Rivers, founded in 1973, is the nation's leading river 

conservation organization. For more information on the FERC 

relicensing process, visit www.americanrivers.org. 

----------------



Australia to raise nuclear concerns with N.Korea

  

CANBERRA, June 27 (Reuters) - Australia said on Wednesday it would 

raise concerns over nuclear and missile proliferation when Paek Nam-

sun becomes the first North Korean minister to visit Australia this 

week. 



The June 28-30 visit by Foreign Minister Paek comes amid a global 

debate about Washington's plans to build a missile shield and to 

rewrite the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the bedrock of U.S.-

Russian nuclear stability for 30 years. 



Australia is one of the few countries which has openly supported 

President George W. Bush's missile shield plan. It is also at the 

forefront of Western efforts to bring North Korea out of its 

isolation. 



Pyongyang, one of the "rogue states" national missile defence is 

meant to protect the U.S. and its allies against, has ferociously 

criticised the proposal. 



Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters that 

regional security concerns, including measures to prevent nuclear and 

missile proliferation, would be a major focus of his Thursday talks 

with his North Korean counterpart. 



"We have some real concerns about their missile programmes, their 

weapons of mass destruction programmes, or at least debate about 

whether such programmes exist or not," Downer said. 



Paek would also meet with Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile, 

Industry Minister Nick Minchin and Agriculture Minister Warren Truss 

during the one-day visit to Canberra. 



He was scheduled to travel to Sydney on Friday to visit the Olympic 

stadium, where athletes from North and South Korea joined hands and 

marched together in the opening ceremonies for the first time since 

the Korean war. 



U.S. PROGRESS KEY 



Paek is the first North Korean minister to visit Australia since 

Canberra last year became the second foreign government after Italy 

to restore diplomatic relations with North Korea as it began to 

emerge from Cold War isolation. 



Ties were frozen in 1975 and Downer was the first Australian 

government minister to visit North Korea in 25 years when he went to 

Pyongyang last November. 



Downer said the return visit was timely, coming just after the United 

States completed its review of its North Korea policy and decided to 

restart dialogue. 



An official said Australia would encourage North Korea to embrace the 

U.S. dialogue, after Pyongyang last week greeted the policy review 

with some caution, expressing doubt over whether Washington truly 

wanted to improve relations with Pyongyang. 



"High on our priority is to see that the U.S. policy review 

translates quickly into serious dialogue," the official said. 



North and South Korea are still technically at war because their 1950-

53 conflict ended in an armed truce. 



Downer said he would also express Australian support for 

international efforts to meet the pressing humanitarian problems 

facing North Korea, such as regular famines. 



Australia has provided over A$24 million of food aid to the drought-

stricken country since 1996-97, a fraction of the mostly U.S. and 

Chinese food aid programme, and another A$18 million as part of an 

international effort to provide heavy fuel oil. 

-----------------



Confab on nuclear safeguards begins, Japan urges enforcement



TOKYO, June 27 (Kyodo) - By: May Masangkay A two-day symposium 

gathering 38 government representatives and nuclear issues experts 

worldwide began Wednesday at a Tokyo hotel with an eye to discussing 

efforts to strengthen new measures on nuclear inspection safeguards 

under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 



The international symposium centering on the Asia-Pacific region is 

aimed at fostering an environment conducive to promote the early 

conclusion of the ''Additional Protocols'' and encourage more 

countries to ratify and implement them. 



In an address, Japanese Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs 

Toshio Kojima stressed the key role of the IAEA safeguards as an 

''indispensable legal framework for nuclear nonproliferation'' and 

also noted Japan's longtime and active efforts in the ''peaceful use 

of nuclear energy.'' 



''Japan has actively contributed to the cause of international 

nuclear nonproliferation while attaching the highest priority to 

achieving full international confidence,'' Kojima said. 



In the discussion forum, Kojima also expressed his understanding of 

the state of affairs faced by other states, but said that Japan will 

continue its efforts over the Additional Protocols to work for world 

peace and security and thus urged them to follow suit. 



Zygmund Domaratzki, deputy director general of the IAEA, also joined 

Kojima in urging the countries' support and cooperation in 

''progressing towards (the safeguards') universality,'' as he said 

these protocols provide the IAEA with a ''fuller and clearer 

understanding'' of a country's nuclear activities. 



This is vital when dealing with undeclared nuclear materials or 

activities, a case in point being Iraq, whose clandestine program on 

nuclear weapons after the 1991 Gulf War shocked the world. 



In view of such events, protocols were established in 1997 to 

minimize the new risks of nuclear proliferation in the post-Cold War 

era, thus allowing the IAEA to conduct on-site inspections of nuclear 

facilities on advance notice of at least two hours to 24 hours. 



In the protocols, countries are also obliged to provide the agency 

with a broad range of information about their activities involving 

atomic power, while the IAEA can designate ''sites'' rather than 

individual ''facilities'' as subjects of its inspections. 



Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi, currently director 

of the Japan Center for Preventive Diplomacy, meanwhile noted the 

breakthrough document in last year's review meeting of the Nuclear 

Non-Proliferation Treaty, which called the IAEA safeguards ''a 

fundamental pillar of the nuclear nonproliferation regime.'' 



Participating countries in the symposium, sponsored by the Japanese 

government in cooperation with the IAEA, include Australia, China, 

the Philippines, South Korea, Myanmar and the United States. 



Of the 55 countries that have signed the protocols so far, 19 -- of 

which five are from the Asia-Pacific region -- have implemented them. 

The five are Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan and New Zealand. 

Japan signed the protocols in December 1998 and implemented them a 

year later. 



The Vienna-based IAEA is a specialized agency of the United Nations 

and an intergovernmental organization working to strengthen the role 

of nuclear energy in world peace and security. It has 132 member 

states as of June.



------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	

Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    

ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.			E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          

Costa Mesa, CA 92626                    



Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/scperle

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com



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