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US NRC approves Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site
Index:
US NRC approves Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site
Leaked EU report heightens Irish Sellafield fears
Nuclear Liability Report Left Public
NY Approves Sale of Nuclear Plants
Precautionary zone set around Fla. nuclear plant
German nuke waste transport may face delays
2 pro-Taliban nuclear scientists reportedly held in Pakistan
Calif. nuclear plant to go ahead with siren test
Musharraf says 'no compromise' on nuclear program
Many thyroid cancer cases linked to Chernobyl
Security to be improved at nuke power plants in Fukui Pref.
Terrorism using nuclear waste also to be punished: bill
Canada Tightens Nuke Security
EU parliamentarians demand better nuclear safety
U.S. power market bemoans loss of key nuclear data
Bechtel to Eliminate Last SS-24 Nuclear ICBM Missile Silo Site
Thousands join anti-nuclear protests in France
======================================
US NRC approves Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Tuesday signed off on a plan to
build an underground dump in Nevada's Yucca Mountain to hold radioactive spent fuel from
nuclear power plants.
Yet another step in a long approval process, NRC approved a site suitability study submitted by
the Department of Energy. The Bush administration must still submit that plan for congressional
approval.
The Energy Department in August gave a favorable safety assessment to the proposed project,
which would face an uphill battle on Capitol Hill. It is heavily opposed by Democrat Sen. Harry
Reid of Nevada, the new Senate assistant majority leader.
The site in the Nevada desert would store thousands of tons of radioactive materials from
nuclear power plants for an estimated 10,000 years.
------------------
Leaked EU report heightens Irish Sellafield fears
DUBLIN, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A report commissioned by the European Union and leaked to media
on Monday said an accident at Britain's Sellafield nuclear plant could cause greater damage
than the Chernobyl explosion in Ukraine in 1986.
The report, sections of which have been seen by Reuters, is likely to trigger renewed calls on the
Irish government to step up legal action against Britain to close the plant in northwest England,
just 60 miles (100 km) from the Irish coast.
Ireland has long expressed fears of a nuclear accident at Sellafield, and since the September 11
hijacking attacks on the United States the anxiety has grown.
The report, compiled for the EU by environmental group Wise Paris prior to September 11, said
events that could trigger an atmospheric release of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) at the
plant included explosions, air crashes, or acts of sabotage.
"The long term consequences of a release from the Sellafield HLW tanks could be much greater
than the consequences of the Chernobyl accident due to the large amounts of caesium-137 and
other radioisotopes in the Sellafield tanks," it said.
The Chernobyl nuclear accident exposed more than five million Europeans to increased levels of
radiation.
The report said some emissions from Sellafield had contained radiation in excess of levels
recommended both by the EU and under the OSPAR Convention for the protection of the marine
environment in the northeast Atlantic.
Britain's decision earlier this month to expand Sellafield with the commissioning of a mixed oxide
(MOX) plant provoked a storm of protest in Ireland, which has long campaigned for the closure of
existing facilities there.
The Irish government has launched legal proceedings under European Union law, and is
considering a claim under the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea.
A spokeswoman for the Irish government department with responsibility for nuclear matters said
it had not yet obtained a copy of the report.
"However, if media reports prove to have substance then it further justifies the Irish government's
legal action against the British authorities," she said.
The report, "Possible Toxic Effects From The Nuclear Reprocessing Plants at Sellafield (UK) and
Cap De La Hague (France)," compiled for the EU's Scientific and Technological Assessment
(STOA) committee, has not been published.
STOA is expected to meet behind closed doors in Strasbourg on Tuesday to hear independent
views before making a decision on whether to release it.
Irish Green Party MEP Nuala Ahern told Reuters the closed nature of the meeting was "highly
irregular."
"I'm going to stand up in the (European) parliament and say I have a copy, I believe it should be
released to members and anyone who wants it I'm prepared to give it to them," she said.
Britain first established nuclear facilities at Sellafield -- formerly called Windscale -- in the 1940s,
and the world's first commercial nuclear power station was opened there in 1956.
-------------------
Nuclear Liability Report Left Public
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government has known since at least 1982 that American nuclear
power plants were susceptible to a jetliner crash yet left a scientific report in a public reading
room that identified the specific vulnerabilities of reactors.
The 119-page report was available for public inspection at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
well after the Sept. 11 hijackings despite warnings dating to 1994 that terrorists wanted to strike
a U.S. nuclear power plant.
The study, conducted in 1982 by the Energy Department's Argonne National Laboratory,
identified the speeds at which a jetliner could begin to pierce the thick concrete containment
walls designed to protect a nuclear reactor.
It estimated that if just 1 percent of a jetliner's fuel ignited after impact, it would create an
explosion equivalent to 1,000 pounds of dynamite inside a reactor building already damaged by
the impact. The report suggested U.S. regulators had underestimated the potential damage from
such an explosion.
``It appears that fire and explosion hazards have been treated with much less care,'' the report
said. It added: ``The breaching of some of the plant's concrete barriers may often be tantamount
to a release of radioactivity.''
An NRC spokesman said Wednesday the report was removed from the reading room earlier this
month and that the agency also was scrubbing its Web site of any similarly sensitive documents
that could aid terrorists.
The agency also has ordered security improvements at the nation's 103 nuclear plants since
Sept. 11 to address concerns like guarding against a suicide hijacker.
NRC spokesman Victor Dricks said such precautions weren't taken before Sept. 11 because ``it
was never considered credible that suicidal terrorists would hijack a large commercial airliner
and deliberately crash it into a nuclear power plant.''
The federal whistleblower group that discovered the report filed a lawsuit Wednesday asking the
NRC and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to order immediate security improvements at
nuclear power plants.
The National Whistleblower Center asked the NRC to deploy anti-missile weapons at nuclear
plants and post armed guards outside spent fuel storage areas, which it said have far less
security than reactors but potentially could release lethal amounts of radiation.
Noting the government has known since 1994 that terrorist groups wanted to attack an American
nuclear power plant, the center alleged the NRC ``left the public at grave risk'' by keeping the
document public and failing to fortify nuclear reactors before Sept. 11.
Ramzi Yousef, the accused mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, encouraged
followers in 1994 to strike such a plant, officials say. An FBI agent has testified in court that one
of Yousef's followers told him in 1995 of plans to ``blow up'' a nuclear plant. And in 1999, the
NRC acknowledged to Congress that it received a credible threat of a terrorist attack against a
nuclear power facility.
``The fact of the matter is that no commercial nuclear power plant located within the United
States was designed to withstand the impact of a large commercial airliner,'' the lawsuit said.
The 1982 report described the exact speed at which a jetliner would begin to transfer its force
into the primary containment wall and interior structure of a nuclear reactor.
It described how the concrete walls of a reactor building would spall, scab and eventually
perforate depending on the speed of the airliner impact. ``Once scabbing begins, the depth of
penetration will increase rapidly,'' it warned.
And it stated U.S. officials who approved nuclear power plant designs had underestimated the
potential damage that a secondary explosion of fuel might cause.
If just 1 percent of a jetliner's fuel ignited after impact, it would create an explosion equivalent to
1,000 pounds of dynamite inside a reactor building already damaged by the impact.
The ignition of fuel ``could lead to a rather violent explosion environment,'' the report warned.
The 1982 study contrasts with statements some U.S. nuclear officials made in the first few days
after the Sept. 11 attacks suggesting that American nuclear power plants could withstand the
crash of a commercial jetliner.
Ten days after the attacks, the NRC corrected those assertions by saying it could not rule out the
possibility that a suicide hijacker could cause structural damage to a plant and force the release
of some radioactivity. ``Nuclear power plants were not designed to withstand such crashes,'' it
said.
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., a frequent NRC critic, said the document suggests the government
should have prepared to guard against a jetliner crash much earlier.
``This document is disturbing because it makes clear the NRC knows that a nuclear power plant
can be successfully attacked by an aircraft and that information has been public for nearly 20
years,'' Markey said.
On the Net:
NRC: http://www.nrc.gov
Whistleblower center: http://www.whistleblowers.org
------------------
NY Approves Sale of Nuclear Plants
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - The state Public Service Commission on Wednesday approved the sale
of the two Nine Mile Point nuclear plants on Lake Ontario to Maryland-based Constellation
Nuclear for $780 million.
Constellation agreed to pay $221 million for Niagara Mohawk's 32-year-old, 609-megawatt Unit 1
reactor, which is licensed to run until 2009.
The Baltimore-based company also will pay $559 million to Niagara Mohawk and three other
upstate New York utilities for their 82 percent stake in the 13-year-old, 1148-megawatt Unit 2
plant, which can operate until 2028.
Niagara Mohawk expects to turn over the keys to Constellation within weeks, said company
spokesman Alberto Bianchetti.
The plants are in Scriba, N.Y., about 50 miles north of Syracuse, in a complex that also includes
the James A. Fitzpatrick nuclear plant, now owned by New Orleans-based Entergy. Together, the
Nine Mile plants employ 1,330 workers. Constellation has agreed to keep all the workers, who
are in the first year of a five-year contract, Bianchetti said.
The final cost was lower than the original $950 million price tag set when the deal was first
proposed last year because it was not concluded by July 1 as originally agreed upon, said PSC
spokesman David Flanagan.
Constellation agreed to pay half the amount, $390 million, at closing. To give ratepayers full
benefit of the sale, the selling utilities agreed to ``front'' Constellation the other half, Flanagan
said. Constellation will pay back the principal and interest to the other utilities over a five-year
period.
``Constellation is an experienced nuclear operator and another important addition to New York's
competitive wholesale generation market,'' said PSC Chairwoman Maureen O. Helmer.
Constellation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Constellation Energy and a sister company to
Baltimore Gas and Electric, also owns and operates the two Calvert Cliffs nuclear plants in
Maryland. The company provides electric and gas service to nearly 1.7 million customers in
Maryland.
Transfer of the plants' operating license to Constellation was approved by the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission in June.
``We are pleased with the PSC's action and are looking forward to moving quickly toward
closing,'' Bianchetti said. ``This is the last of our generating assets.''
Bianchetti noted that sale of the nuclear plants also was a condition for Niagara Mohawk
concluding its $3 billion merger with National Grid Group, which is presently pending before
state regulators.
-----------------
Precautionary zone set around Fla. nuclear plant
MIAMI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard has set up a precautionary secure zone in the
waters around Turkey Point nuclear power plant south of Miami, a spokesman said on
Wednesday.
Coast Guard spokesman Ron LaBrec said boaters would be banned from the area in the event
of an incident or threat involving the plant.
The zone was set up as one of a series of security measures taken by the Coast Guard in
Florida waters after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Steps include protecting
cruise ships entering and leaving ports such as Miami.
The security zone around Turkey Point, which is about 25 miles (40 km) south of Miami, would
mean that in the event of an incident or threat, the Coast Guard could advise boaters and
anglers the area was closed.
The zone will remain effect until June, the National Park Service said.
-------------------
German nuke waste transport may face delays
HITZACKER, Germany, Oct 24 (Reuters) - German authorities said on Wednesday a nuclear
waste shipment to a storage site in the northern town of Gorleben planned for late November
might have to be postponed because of an attack on railway tracks on its planned route.
Deutsche Bahn AG DBN.UL said engineers who had examined a bridge near the town of
Hitzacker had determined that parts of the rails were so badly damaged they would have to be
replaced.
German police said they suspected militant anti-nuclear protesters were behind a fire started late
on Tuesday in trailers under an iron bridge near Hitzacker.
The bridge is on the route of nuclear waste transports. A spokesman for the regional government
said there was no alternative way the reprocessed waste could take to the nearby storage site at
Gorleben.
Rail traffic over the bridge was stopped after the fire, officials said.
A shipment of containers carrying German nuclear waste reprocessed in France was due to
return in late November.
The stretch of railway has frequently been the target of attacks by anti-nuclear activists. Earlier
this year they managed briefly to hold up resumed shipments of waste from reprocessing in
France by chaining themselves to the tracks.
The shipments were stopped for several years due to safety concerns but were resumed after a
deal was reached gradually to phase out nuclear power in Germany over the next two decades.
------------------
2 pro-Taliban nuclear scientists reportedly held in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Oct. 24 (Kyodo) - Two well-known pro-Taliban Pakistani nuclear scientists are
missing and have been reportedly arrested by police for their links and sympathies with
Afghanistan's Taliban government, their families said Wednesday.
The scientists -- Bashir uddin Mahmood and Chaudiri Abdul Majid -- are known for their
specialization in plutonium technology. Since their retirements nearly two years ago, they have
set up a nongovernmental organization for relief work and investment in Afghanistan.
Mahmood's son told Kyodo News he had registered a case with the police about the
disappearance of his father who had gone to Lahore but has not been traceable since Tuesday
afternoon. He said Abdul Majid, a former colleague from the Pakistan Atomic Energy
Commission accompanying his father, was also not traceable.
The newspaper Jung reported Wednesday that a ''Bashir uddin Mahmood,'' a ''Chaudri Abdul
Majid'' and another person were arrested in Lahore on Tuesday and brought to Islamabad for
further investigation.
No official confirmation of the arrests, or if those arrested are the two missing men, was
available.
Mahmood is known for his contribution to the setting up of Pakistan's first ''unsafeguarded''
plutonium reactor in Khushab in central Pakistan. He resigned in 1998 in protest against the
decision of the then government to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Abdul Majid was one of the few Pakistani scientists who were trained at a plutonium facility in
Belgium in the 1960s prior to Pakistan's decision to acquire a plutonium reactor and a
reprocessing plant.
Their nongovernmental group has been organizing relief for the people of Afghanistan since the
imposition of sanctions on Afghanistan by the U.N. Security Council in September 1999.
------------------
Calif. nuclear plant to go ahead with siren test
LOS ANGELES, Oct 23 (Reuters) - After taking unprecedented steps to warn a jittery public that
it is only a test, the San Onofre nuclear power plant will try out its siren system on Wednesday,
assuring all that the scary blare is not a signal of a nuclear emergency.
The plant, on the Pacific coast between Los Angeles and San Diego, has sent notice letters to
58,000 homes and businesses in the surrounding evacuation zone and has also warned schools
and hospitals, plant spokesman Ray Golden said.
"Given the anxiety we thought long and hard and decided to go forward with the test at this time,"
Golden said, saying that the utility and local authorities wanted to demonstrate that the system
was working and "send a message to terrorists."
The San Onofre plant has been the subject of local concerns since the Sept. 11 hijacking attacks
on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Airspace above the twin-domed reactors is restricted because it borders Camp Pendleton Marine
base. A claim from plant operators that the reactor could withstand the impact of a 747 jet was
later withdrawn by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which said the threat had never been
studied.
Sirens at U.S. nuclear power plants must be tested at least once a year and plants and nearby
cities must also have evacuation plans and run mock disaster drills every two years.
Wednesday's drill will trigger a steady wail at 120 decibels from 49 sirens around the plant that
will be audible to the 170,000 people who live and work in the neighboring area.
The plant has estimated that it could take as long as eight hours to move nearby residents
outside the 10-mile evacuation zone in the event of an actual emergency, Golden said.
San Onofre is majority owned by electric utility Southern California Edison, a unit of Edison
International. <EIX.N>
Sempra Energy <SRE.N> unit San Diego Gas & Electric has a 20 percent stake in the plant with
the balance owned by the cities of Anaheim and Riverside.
------------------
Musharraf says 'no compromise' on nuclear program
ISLAMABAD, Oct. 24 (Kyodo) - Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday assured
the nation's top civil and military leaders that there has not been ''any compromise'' on the
Pakistani nuclear program.
The Defense Ministry said Musharraf made the assurance during a meeting of the National
Command Authority, which oversees the nation's nuclear arm facilities.
Meanwhile, Defense Ministry officials said the heads of military operation of Pakistan and India
held talked over the hot line Tuesday about the situation on the borders in the disputed Kashmir
region.
A press release issued by Defense Ministry said Musharraf told the National Command Authority
meeting that Pakistan's strategic assets were the cornerstone of the country's national security
and ''there was no question of any compromise on the nuclear program.''
The National Command Authority was set up after the nuclear tests in May 1998 in the face of
mounting concerns about the absence of clear control and command over the country's nuclear
and missile program.
The Defense Ministry said Musharraf reiterated his resolve to defend the sovereignty and
integrity of Pakistan and dismissed speculations regarding the safety and security of strategic
assets.
Musharraf told the meeting that he had assured world leaders that Pakistan's strategic capability
was fully safeguarded and there is no possibility that it might fall into the wrong hands.
Defense Ministry officials told reporters that the Director Generals of Military Operation of
Pakistan and India reviewed the border situation in Kashmir.
Pakistan expressed concern last week over reported movement of troops across the Line of
Control and relocation of some of the Indian air force units.
------------------
Many thyroid cancer cases linked to Chernobyl
LISBON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Chernobyl, the world's worst nuclear accident, is linked to nearly
2,000 thyroid cancer cases, the largest number of cancers associated with a known cause on a
specific date, scientists said on Tuesday.
Although it is 15 years since a cloud of radioactive dust spewed from the explosion of
Chernobyl's number four reactor in 1986, new cases of cancer associated with the accident are
still being reported.
"Four years after the accident, an excess of thyroid cancers was noted among children who had
been exposed to fallout from the disaster," said Professor Dillwyn Williams of the Strangeways
Research Laboratory at England's Cambridge University.
"That increase has continued and new cases are still being seen in those who were children at
the time of the accident."
Williams told the ECCO 11 cancer conference in Lisbon that children are particularly sensitive to
the cancer after exposure to radiation -- the only established cause of thyroid cancer.
"Exposure to isotopes of iodine gives the thyroid over 1,000 times the average dose to the rest of
the body. The particular sensitivity of children to thyroid cancer after radiation exposure can be
linked to a combination of a higher thyroid dose and the biology of thyroid growth -- which falls to
a very low level in adult life," he said.
The radioactive cloud that erupted from the explosion in Ukraine contained inert xenon gas and
caesium but the largest components were radioactive isotopes of iodine, according to Williams.
The thyroid is a gland at the base of the throat that absorbs iodine from the diet and produces
hormones to keep the body running properly. Thyroid cancer is rare.
Dr Elaine Ron of the U.S. National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, said the risk of
developing thyroid cancer could be highest 15 to 19 years after exposure.
If the theory is correct, many people who were children at the time of the explosion may still
develop the illness.
Other research presented at the five-day meeting showed that the accident may also be linked to
lung cancer.
Victor Chizhikov of the Cancer Research Centre in Moscow said 43 clean-up workers, both
smokers and non-smokers, who had radioactive dust in their lungs after the accident had higher
rates of lung cancer than a similar number of people who had not been exposed to the
radioactive cloud.
About 8,000 doctors, scientists and nurses are attending the five-day cancer conference that
began on Sunday.
-----------------
Security to be improved at nuke power plants in Fukui Pref.
FUKUI, Japan, Oct. 23 (Kyodo) - The Fukui prefectural police said Tuesday additional measures
to strengthen security at all 15 of the prefecture's nuclear power plants will be implemented in
the following days as a precautionary measure against terrorist attacks.
Police officials said a prefectural police task force will be established Wednesday to counter
terrorism and some 150 riot policemen are scheduled to be deployed Thursday.
Security both inside and around the power plants will be upgraded to a 24-hour system, they
added.
The new measures follow the creation of a prefectural police department on Oct. 8 to deal with
security at nuclear power plants which includes patrolling the plants' perimeters and tightening
checks on the identity of power plant visitors.
------------------
Terrorism using nuclear waste also to be punished: bill
TOKYO, Oct. 23 (Kyodo) - A bill to be submitted to the Diet later this month will make the use of
any type of nuclear fuel substance and nuclear waste in ways that endanger people and assets
punishable offenses, government sources said Tuesday.
The amendment to the law regulating nuclear reactors is part of a package of domestic
legislation aimed at paving the way for Japan to ratify the 1997 United Nations Convention on
the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United
States.
The bill, which also includes amendments to six other laws, will be submitted to the Diet on Oct.
30, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said at a board meeting of the House of
Representatives Committee on Rules and Administration earlier in the day.
The law regulating nuclear reactors currently stipulates punishment only for those who put
people or assets in danger using specified nuclear fuel substances that emit high energy, such
as uranium and thorium. The bill would extend penalties to improper use of all nuclear
substances and nuclear waste.
The law concerning the prevention of radiation hazards will also be amended, to subject those
who endanger assets, not just people as currently stipulated, to prison terms of up to 10 years,
the sources said.
In order to ratify the U.N. convention, countries are obliged to stipulate in domestic legislation
that placing deadly devices including explosives, toxic chemical substances and biological
agents in public areas, is a crime and subject to punishment.
Among the other laws to be amended by the bill are the law banning chemical weapons and the
law concerning the treaty banning biological weapons, according to the sources.
The bill stipulates that those who use biological and toxic weapons would face life imprisonment
or imprisonment of at least two years or more or a fine of up to 10 million yen, and those who
disperse biological agents or toxic substances would face a prison term of up to 10 years or a
fine of up to 5 million yen, the sources said.
For chemical weapons, those who disperse toxic substances or substances that are equally toxic
would face a prison term of up to 10 years or a fine of up to 5 million yen, they said.
-------------------
Canada Tightens Nuke Security
TORONTO (AP) - Canada's nuclear regulators have ordered tighter security at the nation's 23
reactors after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, including better screening of workers and protection
against attempts at ``vehicle penetration.''
Nuclear Safety Commission Linda Keen gave the order Friday to operators of Canada's reactors,
spokesman Jim Leveque said Monday.
Further measures were under consideration for the other 4,500 holders of nuclear licenses, such
as irradiation facilities, university research laboratories and uranium mines, Leveque said.
While no specific threat has been received, the commission worked with security and intelligence
agencies and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to speed up implementation of security
steps already under consideration as part of the regulatory review process, Leveque said.
The order applies to Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power Inc., Hydro-Quebec, New
Brunswick Power, and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., and enhances increased security
measures imposed immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks.
It calls for better equipment and training for security personnel, better security screening of
employees and contractors, and more searches of workers and their vehicles, Leveque said.
The order also cites the need for increased protection against ``forced vehicle penetration'' of
secure areas at nuclear plants. While Leveque refused to discuss specifics, he said the idea was
to protect the reactor unit from vehicle attacks.
He also said improved physical identification of workers and visitors, requiring two different
methods of proving identity, would be required.
There was no change in flight restrictions over nuclear reactors that pre-date the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks in which hijacked airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon, leaving 5,500 people dead or missing.
The existing restrictions prohibit flights within a 2,000-foot radius and 1,000 feet overhead,
Leveque said.
------------------
EU parliamentarians demand better nuclear safety
STRASBOURG, France, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Fearful of terrorist attacks, European
parliamentarians of all political colours on Monday demanded stricter safety measures at EU
nuclear plants and vulnerable industrial operations.
The call comes after a leaked European Union report said an accident at Britain's Sellafield
nuclear plant could cause more damage than the 1986 explosion at Chernobyl in Ukraine.
"The events of September 11 call for a reassessment of the risks of attacks on installations that
we previously regarded as secure," Giles Bryan Chichester, a member of the European
Parliament's conservative group, told the assembly.
"Special attention needs to be given to nuclear plants. I hope member states will cooperate," Eryl
Margaret McNally, from the European socialists, said in Parliament.
The Green Party went as far as calling for the outright closure of nuclear plants, saying such
structures could not withstand the impact of a small commercial plane.
On September 11, two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center causing its
landmark twin towers to collapse.
"No nuclear plants anywhere could withstand the kind of terrorist attacks that we saw in New
York on September 11," Nuala Ahern, from the Greens, said in a statement just before the
parliamentary discussions.
"The only way we can all be safe from such terrorist attacks is to close down all nuclear power
plants starting with those that have already had an extended life and are ageing and dangerous."
The European Commission said in a statement to Parliament that EU governments have already
stepped up measures to protect their nuclear plants.
But it admitted more needed to be done at other potentially dangerous targets such as chemical
and natural gas plants.
In the United States, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania was temporarily
placed on high alert last week after a report from intelligence officials of a threat to the
installation. The threat was later dismissed.
Several European parliamentarians said safety measures needed to be stepped up in a whole
range of areas seen as vulnerable to the malice of terrorists.
They sketched an apocalyptic scenario in which threats might come to European citizens from
several fronts, ranging from polluted water supplies to attacks on chemical plants or on ships
carrying flammable materials.
The parliamentarians also highlighted the need to tighten security measures in all countries
seeking to join the EU, many of which have Communist-era nuclear plants that do not meet EU
standards.
-------------------
U.S. power market bemoans loss of key nuclear data
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) decision two weeks
ago to suspend its daily plant status report leaves the market vulnerable to rumors and
manipulation, natural gas and power traders said Monday.
"Every bit of information you don't have adds uncertainty and volatility to the market, and traders
will tend to compensate by overreacting," said Jay Saunders, energy analyst at Deutsche Bank
in Baltimore.
The NRC, which oversees operations at the nation's 103 nuclear power plants, used to release a
status report on which plants were shut for maintenance, refueling or other work.
But on Oct. 11, citing security concerns stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and the
Pentagon, the agency suspended publication of its closely watched report.
"I understand there is interest in (the report) and we'll try to make a decision expeditiously," NRC
Chairman Richard Meserve told reporters this morning after addressing a nuclear safety
conference. "We're not trying to delay this."
Meserve declined to give any sense of how soon a decision on resuming the report would be
made, saying only its fate was a "hard policy issue yet to be determined."
While Meserve said he recognized there was keen interest in bringing back the report, he said
no companies or individuals had claimed they were hurt by the move to halt its report.
MARKET GRUMBLES
But gas and power traders, who use the report to help gauge electric supplies nationwide,
strongly disagreed, pointing to a 9 percent spike in gas prices Tuesday that was partly blamed
on false rumors of plant shutdowns due to "security concerns".
The gas price surge in turn pushed up wholesale power prices in the Northeast, Midwest,
Southeast and Texas.
"Not releasing the report is going to give a one-up to people who have both power and gas
trading operations," a Texas-based gas trader said.
"Nukes...make up the foundation of the power grid and any failure to perform forces power
companies to buy unscheduled supplies from oil or gas units," he added.
Reactors, which generate about a fifth of the nation's electricity, typically shut down for several
weeks every 18 to 24 months to refuel and perform routine maintenance.
But traders said it is the unexpected plant outages listed in the report, especially during peak
power demand periods like summer, that force utilities to crank up more costly oil or gas-fired
generators, driving up power prices in the process.
FAVORING OWNERS
Traders said withholding the daily nuclear plant status report gives big nuclear plant owners and
operators a clear competitive edge by knowing when key units are on or off line.
"When a nuke is off line, prices are usually higher. Anyone who either owns the unit or has rights
to the power will have a big advantage over the rest of the market. It's definitely helpful (to have
the report)," a Northeast trader said.
An energy trader at a company with nuclear power generation said his company did not miss the
NRC list at all.
"We have enough access to information about the nukes in the area and would prefer to keep
that to ourselves, like the fossil (gas, oil, coal fuel) units. I'd prefer not to see the list again. It
gives me the advantage," he said.
While information about fossil fuel plant outages is not widely available or regularly tracked by
the federal government, traders said public safety concerns about nuclear plant operations also
mandated the need for a daily report.
Traders also said they worry that the permanent loss of the NRC report will push prices generally
higher to reflect an uncertainty factor that was previously not there.
"The NRC report makes for a fairer playing field for everyone in the market. Not having it is
another way of hiding information," another trader said.
------------------
Bechtel National to Eliminate Last SS-24 Nuclear ICBM Missile Silo Site In The Ukraine
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) will dismantle and
eliminate the last remaining SS-24 Nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Silo Site in
Ukraine on October 30, marking the end in another chapter of the Cold War. The elimination of
this facility will take place in Pervomaysk, Ukraine, located approximately 400 kilometers south of
the capital, Kiev.
This historic event is part of the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program mission to
convert former active military sites to sunflower fields and forests. The CTR Program is
performed under the direction of the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Defense Threat
Reduction Agency (DTRA), and the Ukraine Ministry of Defense under the terms of the Strategic
Arms Reduction Talks Treaty.
BNI was awarded the SS-24 ICBM dismantlement contract in June 1998. Under the contract BNI
was responsible for removal of the missiles from their silos, defueling and partially neutralizing
them, repairing and maintaining a variety of infrastructure and special handling equipment,
transporting the missiles to transfer stations, loading them onto special railway cars, and
transporting quantities of liquid rocket fuel and oxidizers.
Among the types of missile facilities destroyed at the Pervomaysk site are hardened launch
control silos; several administration buildings; standby power, refrigeration, and security
installations; fuel and underground water storage tanks; security fences; connecting tunnels, and
a variety of buried utility components.
In keeping with Bechtel's "zero accident" policy, the BNI Ukraine CTR Project Team and its
Ukrainian Subcontractor personnel have worked over 7.6 million safe job hours to date under
BNI's management. The BNI Ukraine CTR Project Team invested many years to develop a
safety program and train its on-site Ukrainian Subcontractors workforce.
"We are excited to be part of such a historic event and are proud of our continued involvement in
the CTR Program," said BNI President Tom Hash.
A September 2002 completion date is scheduled for the technical site restoration activities for
the last two remaining SS-24 Missile Regiments in Pervomaysk, which each include 16 SS-24
missile silos and one launch control silo. These sites will be then transferred by the Ukraine
MoD to the local Ukraine Oblast authorities where they will be used for either agricultural or
forestation purposes.
Bechtel Work History In The Ukraine:
Some of BNI's prior projects in the former Soviet Union include the dismantlement of 130 missile
silos of the SS-19 type, also in the Ukraine; a chemical weapons destruction program in Russia;
the construction of a storage facility for a stockpile of fissile material formerly contained in
Russia's nuclear arsenal; the design and construction of a testing and training center to support
security upgrades at 123 nuclear weapons storage sites in Russia; and a logistical support
assignment that involved a variety of CTR facilities in the Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and
Russia. Currently, BNI also is involved in an effort to clean up, decommission, and stabilize the
damaged Unit 4 reactor building of the Ukraine's Chornobyl nuclear power station.
------------------
Thousands join anti-nuclear protests in France
TOULOUSE, France, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Thousands of anti-nuclear protesters demonstrated
across France on Saturday amid heightened fears of guerrilla attacks on the country's 19 nuclear
plants after last month's attacks on the United States.
Police said some 2,500 protesters marched through the southern city of Toulouse, chanting anti-
nuclear slogans and brandishing banners demanding the abolition of France's highly-developed
nuclear power and defence industries.
"The fact that we are several thousand in the streets of Toulouse, and elsewhere in France,
proves that the French people are truly frightened of nuclear energy," said Andre Crouzet, head
of the "Let's Get Out of the Nuclear Age" Association.
Activists pointed to the September explosion at a Toulouse petrochemicals plant, which killed 29
people and injured thousands, as an example of how easily accidents can happen.
Another 3,000 massed in Lyon in the southeast, while slightly smaller protests were under way at
Colmar in the northeast, Lille in the north and Nantes in the southwest.
Green Party head Dominique Voynet said in Lyon, "We are not condemned for life eternal to be
the most nuclearised country in the world, the country which exports low-price electricity to its
neighbours while keeping the nuclear waste."
France's 19 nuclear plants produce 76 percent of national electricity, the highest proportion of
any country. Nuclear power produces just over a third of European Union electricity.
Joining demonstrators in Lille, Noel Mamere -- currently the front-runner Green candidate for
France's April presidential elections -- called on the government to reduce nuclear power,
pointing to German plans to phase out nuclear energy by the early 2020s. Belgium and Sweden
have also opted to get rid of nuclear power stations, largely on environmental grounds.
TIGHTER SECURITY AT NUCLEAR PLANTS
While opponents evoke the risk of deadly explosions like that at Chernobyl in the former Soviet
Union in 1986, which exposed five million Europeans to radiation, supporters say nuclear plants
do not produce carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas targeted by the 1997 Kyoto climate
change deal.
On Friday, France said it had deployed ground-to-air missiles near a nuclear waste reprocessing
plant at La Hague in northern France as a precaution following the hijack attacks on U.S.
landmarks.
France has boosted security around all its nuclear plants, aware that a guerrilla attack on a
nuclear power station could cause devastating and widespread damage with little effort.
While Paris had not been informed of any particular threat, Defence Minister Alain Richard said
this week France was prepared to use warplanes to shoot down hijacked planes. Putting missile
batteries in place was a complementary measure, he said.
Earlier this month, anti-nuclear protesters met rail shipments of waste from German nuclear
plants to the La Hague reprocessing site -- the first atomic waste to arrive from Germany since
the attacks on New York and Washington.
Some 50 anti-nuclear campaigners gathered near Strasbourg, saying it was irresponsible to
transport nuclear waste at a time of increased risk of guerrilla attacks.
**************************************************************************
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://sandyfl.nukeworker.net
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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