NucNews - June 25, 2005 -------- NUCLEAR The new nuclear age By James Button June 25, 2005 The Age http://www.theage.com.au/news/general/the-new-nuclear-age/2005/06/24/1119321899597.html?oneclick=true Related * Nuclear power: for many, the only choice http://www.theage.com.au/media/2005/06/25/1119321911528.html http://www.theage.com.au/ffxmedia/2005/06/25/nuclear_age.jpg The Australian nuclear power debate is up and running - in Europe, it's never stopped. It was the issue Tony Blair wanted kept out of the election campaign, and he largely succeeded. Four days after Britain's Labour Government was re-elected last month, a Downing Street document was leaked showing that the Prime Minister had endorsed a plan to "keep the nuclear option open". Asked on television about the document - which admitted that the nuclear question divided the Government - Blair said that anyone "serious about the issue of climate change" had to consider nuclear power. However, public opposition and the problem of waste disposal meant that, for now, it was not on the table. Anti-nuclear campaigners were not appeased. What most troubled them was something else Blair said, which was that people could not be compelled to reduce their living standards in the fight against global warming. In the radioactive sphere of nuclear politics, the comment suggested that Blair could seek to expand the nuclear industry. Here's why Blair's words were read that way. Two perspectives are emerging on how to respond to global warming. The first supports clean or renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and tidal power but argues that the problem is so grave people will also have to change their behaviour - not only to use more energy-efficient products but to drive and fly and even consume less. The second says that is unlikely to happen - people won't change. And renewables won't be enough. In a society ever hungry for energy, other solutions must be found and they lie mainly in technology. This pragmatic view, evidently held by Blair, leads in the minds of many people to nuclear power. That's where Greenpeace director Stephen Tindale sees Blair heading. "He is implying that anyone who is against nuclear is in favour of making people go back and live in caves - it's absolutely ridiculous," Tindale told The Independent newspaper. He thinks energy efficiency - properly insulated homes, for example - can make a huge contribution to carbon dioxide reduction without overturning people's lives. But if environmentalists were angry, the share price of Britain's main nuclear company, British Energy, which had been virtually worthless a few years ago, surged after the document was leaked. Nuclear power lobbyists are again in the corridors of Whitehall. The argument that inflamed the 1970s is back, with a twist. Nuclear power, which unlike coal does not emit carbon dioxide, is being touted as green power. Britain's nuclear industry hasn't had an illustrious life since the Queen opened the first nuclear power station in 1956. The 2003 Energy White Paper described nuclear power as economically "unattractive", and the Government had to step in to prevent British Energy becoming insolvent in 2002. The issue of waste remains unresolved: it sits in drums at power stations, unable to be stored without public protest. "Thatcher said she'd build 10 new power stations, she built one," said one Government insider. "If she couldn't do it, why would Blair?" With polls showing consistent public opposition to nuclear power, the white paper assumed it would be cut to almost nothing by 2023 as the focus turned to renewable energy. But that was before Labour stepped up its ambitious commitments on climate change. It plans to reduce carbon emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010 (a goal it will not meet, as the leaked document admits) and by 60 per cent by 2050. The Government is forcing British electricity suppliers to obtain 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015. Britain is poised to become one of the world's leading producers of offshore wind farms. An inquiry is under way into a hugely contentious proposal to build 27 wind turbines, each almost as tall as a cathedral, in the much-loved Lake District. Even so, wind at best will only meet 7 per cent of the nation's electricity needs by 2010. Longer term, Downing Street thinks wind and solar power will never be the dominant sources of electricity. Britain's North Sea gas fields have also dried up. Should nuclear fill the power gap? The question provokes intense division. Renowned environmentalist James Lovelock, a passionate nuclear advocate, accuses groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth of betraying the planet by backing wind energy at all costs. "To phase out nuclear energy just when we need it most to combat global warming is madness," he wrote in Reader's Digest recently. Greenpeace's Jean McSorley thinks nuclear power proponents have their own obsessions. She points out that electricity makes up only about a third of all power, saying: "The areas where you need the biggest change (in carbon emissions) are short-haul flights and road transport, and nuclear power is not the solution to either of those." Echoes of British debates - and a hint that global warming might be changing the argument in favour of nuclear power - can be detected across Europe. Industry is complaining about soaring oil and power prices, the latter driven by the costs of complying with new limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Finland is expanding its nuclear power program just as neighbour Sweden has closed its oldest reactor. In a 1980 referendum, the Swedes decided to phase out nuclear power, which supplies 40 per cent of their electricity. They are planning northern Europe's biggest wind farm. Yet a recent opinion poll suggests concerns about climate change are pushing them to rethink their 1980 decision. The German Social Democrat-Green coalition is also phasing out nuclear power, but slowly, unsure of what will replace it. The Christian Democrat party, which is likely to take power in September, has promised to stop the phase-out, although it stresses it has no plans to build new nuclear power stations, which are unpopular in Germany. France, which went nuclear in 1973 after the oil shock, produces 80 per cent of its electricity from the atom. As a result, each French person emits only six tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, compared with 9.5 in Britain, 15 in Australia and 18 in the United States, says Bruno Comby, of Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy. Comby, who once worked for France's largest nuclear power company, EDF, devotes his life to making the case that nuclear energy is both environmentally sound and safe. He contrasts France with Denmark, which responded to the 1973 oil shock by investing heavily in wind power. Despite this commitment, Denmark gets less than 20 per cent of its electricity from wind, the rest has to be imported. It is one of the developed world's worst emitters of greenhouse gases. Nevertheless, Danes have no desire to go nuclear, says former foreign minister Helveg Petersen. They worry about safety. "We are determined to live up to our (climate-change) obligations but we have a problem. But it is not one we choose to solve through nuclear energy. That is out," Petersen says. Britain's immediate issue is that its nuclear plants are reaching the end of their lives. Fifteen will close in the next 15 years: since each takes 10 to 15 years to build, a decision on replacing them must be made soon, says John Loughhead, of the UK Energy Research Centre. Loughhead, whose centre is government-funded but "agnostic" in the power debate, says that in theory, renewable sources could meet all Britain's energy needs. In practice, neither wind nor solar energy are available all the time and neither can be stored. For now, "nuclear is playing a critical role. If we didn't have it, we would be emitting much more carbon." Loughhead thinks science can play a big role in making power use more efficient. But he says that if the current nuclear reactors are not replaced, Britain will face a choice: either it will have to reduce its energy use or carbon emissions will soar. He doesn't think it will do the former. "I don't think anybody realises how much we depend on energy. Without it, we cannot live the way we live now," he says. -------- business Northrop Grumman unveils training facility The nuclear specialists are an important part of the shipyard work force. Just don't ask what they do. BY CHRIS FLORES 247-4738 June 25, 2005 NY Daily Press http://www.dailypress.com/business/local/dp-40040sy0jun25,0,7080083.story?coll=dp-business-localheads NEWPORT NEWS -- By next year, Northrop Grumman Newport News' nuclear workers won't need to endure long walks or be forced to navigate through a maze of buildings along Washington Avenue to attend classes anymore. Construction on a new training facility between 46th and 47th streets and Washington and Huntington avenues will begin in the next few weeks and be completed by May 2006. About 100 instructors and staff eventually will train about 350 workers at a time in the building. The energy industry has struggled to replace its aging employees who run nuclear power plants with a smaller number of new nuclear engineers who are entering the workforce. But the shipyard hasn't faced that problem because it has such a large pool of workers onsite to train. "We have a very large workforce, of which a small component is the nuclear workforce," said Danny Hunley, the vice president of trades, education and training for Northrop Grumman Newport News. But Hunley also said that replacing the wave of workers who will retire in the near future is a challenge in all specialties. By keeping a trained pool of workers in the pipeline, the shipyard will stay ahead of competitors facing the same issues, said Hunley. Only the top echelon of the workforce find their way into the nuclear jobs at the yard, said Hunley. It's rare for someone to go immediately into a nuclear position at Northrop Grumman New port News, he said. "You come in as an entry-level employee and work your way up the ranks," said Hunley. Mark Seaton, a radiological control instructor at the shipyard, said a wide variety of specialists need to be trained to work around nuclear material. "Any trade in the shipyard, we train them how to do their jobs under radiological controls," said Seaton. While nuclear engineers receive detailed training in college, they get regular refresher courses at the shipyard. Workers learn the basics about radiation and contamination and how to work safely around radiological components and materials. "We train them how to avoid getting hurt or exposed," said Seaton. Most of the training is focused on a specific trade, like a pipe-fitter. But all the workers are keenly aware that much of the nuclear work is classified and are tight-lipped about what they do. Employee Jerry Bulles, who works on ventilation projects on ships, would only say that his training involves "how to take care of a situation" that involves nuclear material. "You have to be able to respect it and know what you're around," said Tom Gilliam, a welder at the yard. The shipyard's nuclear activities are regulated by Navy standards. Seaton said these rules are as restrictive or more than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which monitors power plants and industries that use nuclear devices. The new building will not be licensed to hold nuclear material, said Seaton. Employees learn how to work in situations that would involve nuclear material without using it. -------- india India, U.S. hold talks on civilian nuclear energy cooperation, missile defense Saturday June 25, 12:44 AM Associated Press http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050624/ap/d8au3go80.html India and the United States on Friday discussed building a strategic partnership in areas such as civilian nuclear energy, advanced weaponry and missile defense ahead of the Indian prime minister's visit to Washington next month, a top U. S. official said. "We see India as a growing power ... We are achieving a partnership between our two countries, which is truly historic," U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said after meeting with India's Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran. Burns also discussed possible cooperation in the fields of agriculture, the environment and HIV/AIDS prevention. Burns' visit to New Delhi was meant to prepare for talks between U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, scheduled to visit Washington in mid-July, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. Burns said the talks touched on how the U.S. and India could promote democracy around the world. "We discussed some specific initiatives that our two leaders might possibly agree to when they get together in Washington," he said, without elaborating. Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee leaves Saturday for a four-day visit to the United States, where he is to meet Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The Bush administration has offered to sell an upgraded version of F-16 fighter jets to India, but Mukherjee said no military purchases would be announced during his trip. Burns was set to leave Saturday for Dhaka, Bangladesh. -------- japan Device containing uranium missing at Japanese nuclear plant: report Fri Jun 24, 2005 2:15 PM ET (AFP) http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050624/wl_asia_afp/japannuclear_050624181548&printer=1;_ylt=AomJNl1fOwdoVqbawdSPAmnuOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE- A component containing a tiny amount of enriched uranium is reportedly missing at a Japanese nuclear power plant, according to a report received by the science ministry. Kansai Electric Power Co. reported to the ministry about the missing component at the No. 3 reactor of the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant, Fukui prefecture, 385 kilometres (240 miles) west of Tokyo, the Kyodo news agency said. The inspection device is used to measure the volume of neutrons inside a reactor, and one of its components containing 1.7 milligrams of enriched uranium is missing, Kyodo said, citing to an official of the nuclear safety division of the science ministry. The radioactivity level of the uranium is low and highly unlikely to affect human health, the ministry said. The ministry said it would dispatch staff on Saturday to the site for investigations, Kyodo said. The device was intact as late as July 2004, Kyodo said, citing the ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology. The incident comes after confidential data on at least two Japanese nuclear power plants was inadvertently leaked over the Internet. Japan's government on Thursday vowed to tighten controls on information at nuclear facilities following the leak. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said the government believed the leak did not involve any crucial information on nuclear materials from the Tomari nuclear power plant in northern Japan and the Sendai plant in southern Japan. Major electrical machinery maker Mitsubishi Electric Corp earlier said confidential data from two nuclear power plants had been leaked over the Internet from a virus-infected computer used by an employee at a group firm. -------- russia Russian Air Force Chief Says Washington Still Fighting Cold War Moscow (AFP) Jun 25, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/news/milspace-05zq.html Russian air force commander General Vladimir Mikhailov accused Washington on Saturday of still fighting the Cold War against Moscow, the Ria-Novosti news agency reported. "The Cold War is finished on our side, we have a very peaceful stance," Mikhailov said in a speech at Engles in southwestern Russia. "But as far as the Americans are concerned it seems that given what they are producing and planning in the way of weapons the so-called Cold War is not over." Mikhailov was speaking at the beginning of joint exercises with the armed forces of Russia and the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Russian political and military leaders frequently warn Washington against reviving the Cold War, the 40-year conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union until the collapse of the latter at the beginning of the 1990s. Mikhailov also said that Russia's Tu-160 strategic bombers would begin testing long-range cruise missiles by the end of August, and that Moscow was prepared to attack "terrorist bases" abroad. ---- Putin attacks US curbs on Russian space exports SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP) Jun 25, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050625210108.a7p2s6gp.html Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Saturday US policy aimed at stopping Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, which, he said, was damaging his country's space industry. "The unilateral practice by the United States of sanctions in the field of control of exports in respect of Russian space enterprises, as well as certain provisions of the law on non-proliferation regarding Iran" were an obstacle to economic cooperation between Russia and the US, he told an audience of US investors. Putin's target was the 2000 Iran Non-Proliferation Act which bans the purchase of technologies from countries that do not respect it. Washington believes that Iran is seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction. Moscow is helping Iran build a nuclear power station but with US worries in mind, Russia has stressed that its contract violates no law or international agreement and will go ahead only if Tehran gives the watertight assurances the world has demanded that it will not pursue uranium enrichment. Russia's space industry is penalised by the law as it is banned from selling space equipment to the US. "Our programmes with Iran are transparent, open and controlled by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," Putin said, speaking in Saint Petersburg. "And so there is no lack of understanding, no mutual reproach or suspicion in respect of the Iranian leadership." -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- new jersey Nuclear plant causes concern Nineteen-year-old Hope Creek in South Jersey is showing signs of age. A maintenance backlog is among the problems. By Tom Avril Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer Sat, Jun. 25, 2005 http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11981506.htm Plagued by steam leaks and a backlog of maintenance projects, South Jersey's Hope Creek nuclear power plant has been shut down about half the time since early October, most recently for 10 days this month. None of the incidents posed a danger to workers or the public, but critics say the chain of events does not inspire confidence in the 19-year-old reactor, one of three that make up the nation's second-largest nuclear power facility. And along with its two sister plants, Salem 1 and 2, the plant is under heightened scrutiny by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after several employee whistleblowers said their safety concerns were ignored. Conditions are improving, but it will take a long time to catch up, according to a nuclear safety engineer who once worked as a consultant at the plant, situated about 35 miles southwest of Philadelphia. "They've had so many years of not doing preventative maintenance," said David Lochbaum, now at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a national watchdog group. "It's really the sins of the past come home to roost." Officials at PSEG Nuclear, the plant owner, acknowledge they are behind on maintenance but say they are making steady progress. A third-party survey revealed frustration among some employees but showed that most were willing to raise issues, company spokesman Skip Sindoni said. "It's not a safety concern," Sindoni said. "It's more issues that there's an opportunity there to improve from a production standpoint." The various shutdowns at Hope Creek, starting with a steam leak discovered in the turbine building on Oct. 10, come amid increased interest in nuclear power. On Wednesday, President Bush renewed his call for the construction of reactors, and the energy bill now moving through Congress includes incentives toward that end. Exelon Corp., the nation's largest nuclear-plant operator and the parent of Philadelphia's Peco Energy, is one of several companies that have explored building reactors. Exelon also is in the process of acquiring Newark-based PSEG Inc., the corporate parent of Hope Creek, which is situated in Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County. Supporters of nuclear power tout the fact that it does not generate air pollution, including the "greenhouse gases" that most climate scientists believe have led to global warming. Yet some environmental groups remain resolutely antinuclear, citing difficulties with proper disposal of spent radioactive fuel, and the potential for another accident like 1979's partial meltdown at Three Mile Island. An increase in nuclear power generation would entail not just constructing more plants, but also renewing licenses belonging to the first generation of reactors such as Hope Creek. Hope Creek's license expires in 2026, but already the plant is showing signs of age. On Oct. 10, it was shut down after a steam leak in the turbine building. Soon after powering back up in January, the plant was down again for 15 hours to fix a broken pipe. Then in March came a small leak in an instrument tube, leading to a voluntary two-week shutdown. And this month, a 20-foot plume of steam gushed from a faulty indicator valve, leading to still another shutdown. As workers began to start up the plant last week, another leak was found and fixed, meaning three more days without power. The October leak was the most serious. While none of the leaks got to the point that emergency pumps had to be engaged, Lochbaum said increased scrutiny is warranted. "The hope is that, if challenged some day, that equipment will work," Lochbaum said. "It's kind of like your spare tire. You're not likely to find out it's flat until one of your other tires goes flat." Sindoni, the PSEG spokesman, said the plant is chipping away at its maintenance backlog, going from 110 items that needed to be fixed in January to about 50 at the end of May. January is when Exelon took over daily operations at the plant, although ownership remains with PSEG until the merger is complete. David Schanzer, an industry analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott L.L.C., said that Exelon has a good track record at keeping its plants running at full capacity, and that the merger is a good sign for PSEG's reactors. "Very clearly, in my mind, having Public Service as a part of Exelon at this point is going to be beneficial for ratepayers, for investors," Schanzer said. Yet still unresolved are a number of safety and security allegations by individuals, including employees, and organizations. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating 22 such allegations at Salem-Hope Creek, tops in the nation. And in 2004, the agency substantiated 13 such claims, also tops in the nation. Contact staff writer Tom Avril at 215-854-2430 or tavril@phillynews.com. -------- new york Unlike Westchester, upstate Oswego welcomes nuclear power By MICHAEL RISINIT mrisinit@... THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: June 26, 2005) http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050626/NEWS02/506260355/-1/spider OSWEGO, N.Y. — The cooling tower at Constellation Energy's Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station rises 543 feet above Lake Ontario. Like a giant concrete anthill, the structure is easily visible from the rolling County Route 1 or the bluff above Wrights Landing Marina in nearby Oswego. On the edge of the country, Constellation operates two nuclear reactors. Next door, Entergy Nuclear Northeast, the owner of Indian Point in Buchanan, runs the James A. FitzPatrick plant. With the nuclear industry gearing up to plan the country's first new reactor in more than three decades, government leaders are practically begging to turn the lakeshore trio into a quartet. Save for the Great Lake, the concrete monolith is the local landscape's most prominent feature — and a possible lightning rod. "I was part of the movement to stop nuclear power," said Theresa Freeman, 57. "For this country to go back and try to reclaim nuclear power as an energy source is insane." Freeman leaned into her words, sitting with three friends on a recent morning in front of the downtown Port City Cafe and Bakery. Decaf or not, she was vehemently against another reactor on the nearby lakefront. The women grew up in Oswego, but Freeman now lives in Berkeley, Calif. The almost 3,000 miles between her and the other women is enough to separate their thinking. "The friends who still live in Oswego would love a new plant," said Maureen Sullivan, Oswego County's personnel director. "It means work." That's the conclusion of Oswego Mayor John Gosek, the Oswego County Legislature and Rep. John McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, all of whom support another plant in the neighborhood — an about-face from Westchester County, where calls for Indian Point's closing are the usual refrain. This month, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano released a $385,000 study asking for Entergy's voluntary shutdown of Indian Point. In April, the Oswego County Legislature passed a "Resolution in Support of the Nuclear Power 2010 Program." The year is a reference to when construction may start. The pleas upstate are aimed at a nuclear power consortium called NuStart, of which Constellation and Entergy are members. NuStart will choose two sites from a list of six — including Constellation's property outside Oswego — for which to apply for licenses to build and operate nuclear power plants. The other locations are in Maryland, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Final selections are expected by Oct. 1, said Carl Crawford, a NuStart spokesman. "Community support will always be an important factor in such a decision by NuStart or any other nuclear-operating company," Crawford said in an e-mail. "I've heard some senior nuclear energy executives say a company would never build a new plant in a community that didn't want it. Most communities want a new nuclear unit for the benefit of relatively high salaried staffs, local contract purchasing, and the millions of dollars in new property taxes paid." Once considered dead following the partial meltdown of Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear plant in 1979 and the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine, the nuclear industry may be headed for a resurrection. The revival is benefiting from the Bush administration's desire to revitalize the nuclear power industry — an energy source the president has characterized as clean and safe — and spur the building of new plants. The last nuclear power plant to come online was the Watts Barr plant in Tennessee in 1996, and the last permit for a new plant was issued in 1979. Oswego and a nearby namesake state university sit about 220 miles north of White Plains. A healthy downtown boasts 19th-century brick buildings, two banks, a shoe store, a movie theater, a bookstore and several eateries. A Lafarge Corp. cement distribution terminal and the twin stacks of Oswego Harbor Power share the waterfront with parks, boats and historic sites. Empty storefronts are almost nonexistent, and a weekly farmers market draws hundreds. Nuclear power on the lakeshore has existed since 1969, and the final reactor went into service in 1986. Similar to the Indian Point nuclear power plants, public utilities sold the Lake Ontario plants to private companies several years ago. "When it's new, you worry about it," said Bill Bauer, 71, a lifelong farmer who has been bringing potatoes, radishes and rhubarb to the farmers market for 26 years. He lamented the 2002 closings of a nearby Nestle facility and International Paper plant, and the jobs lost with them. "But they take so many (safety) precautions," Bauer said. "Another (plant) would help with jobs." Not everyone is lining up behind the mayor. The Central New York chapter of the Citizens Awareness Network characterized the Oswego Legislature's resolution as one that "undermined the safety and economic welfare of Oswego and all of Central New York." At the marina in Oswego, Phil and June MacArthur said the lakeshore didn't need another reactor. The two grew up nearby and recently returned after 25 years in Florida. "If they want to bring more nuke plants here, they're going to have to wait until we're too old to fight," said Phil MacArthur, 59, who retired in May as a math professor from Florida Keys Community College. As at Indian Point, security has tightened since 9/11. Boating is prohibited nearby in Lake Ontario, and one can't freely pass from plant to plant on a lakeside road. To go from Constellation to Entergy requires a five-mile circuitous drive and another security check. "You tend to hear 'Indian Point, Indian Point,' " said Jill Lyons, a Constellation spokeswoman, referring to industry chatter about nuclear plant opposition. "But the community (here) tends to be anti-anti-nuclear." One stark difference between there and here is population, which most likely plays a role in demand for jobs and worries about terrorism. More people live in Yonkers than in all of Oswego County, which is about twice the size of Westchester. "A few thousand jobs down there don't mean a lot," said Gosek, Oswego's mayor. "But in a city of 18,000 people, when you put four to five hundred construction workers to work, your town booms." Spano, upon releasing the county-commissioned consultant's report on Indian Point, pointed to the region's population as to why the plant's operating licenses should not be renewed. "We insist that the (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) consider the current difficulties and realities if an emergency evacuation were to take place in a dense, congested population center with limited roadways, even though the area was not as developed when the facility was first constructed," Spano said in a statement. But for many in and around Oswego, nuclear energy means a paycheck. Colleen Caramella has worked at FitzPatrick for 18 years and said the plant gives her, her husband, Joe, (a five-year employee) and their three sons a stable life. Amy Skinner's husband is an operator at Constellation. "I don't think there's any downside (to a fourth reactor)," Skinner said as her children, Garrett, 9, and Kelly, 6, swam in the family's in-ground pool, the plant's tower hidden behind the trees. Two doors down from the Skinners on County Route 1, 26-year-old Ted Volkomen mowed swaths of his parents' yard with a red Massey Ferguson tractor. The property shifts from lawn to meadow to woods, where the tower protrudes above the trees. "It'd be more work around here. There's not a lot," said Volkomen, a pipe fitter. Back in downtown Oswego, the coffee klatch is a cross-section of opinions on local nuclear power. "I'm not sure it was ever a good idea," said Mary Ann Masuicca, 57, who works at St. Joseph's Catholic Church. "But we've got three. So what difference would another make?" -------- vermont Nuclear waste puzzle unsolved By Christopher Marcisz, Berkshire Eagle Staff, July 25, 2005 http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_2826270 ROWE -- Most of the structures at the former Yankee Rowe nuclear power plant have been torn down, and the closing is expected to be finished by the end of the year. But the site remains home to several tons of high-level nuclear waste, a costly legacy of the nuclear era. At its meeting this month, the Yankee Rowe Citizen Advisory Board officially changed its mission from overseeing the demolition of the plant to monitoring the storage of the waste there until the federal government lives up to its contractual obligation to take the waste to a permanent waste dump. Yankee Rowe was the third civilian reactor to open in the United States, and it generated electricity for New England from 1960 to 1992. It is now home to 16 "dry cask" storage units weighing about 1,700 tons and containing 533 fuel assemblies -- bundles of hollow steel rods that contain ceramic-coated pellets of highly refined uranium. "It is certainly my feeling it is in the best interest of Yankee Rowe and lots of other people to have a permanent storage solution," said Anne Skinner, who represents Williamstown on the advisory board. "Right now, it doesn't represent a high risk in the sense that the casks are quite sturdy and well-patrolled. Nonetheless, you don't want it sitting there." Community input The board has met since 1998 to provide community input into the decommissioning process. Its Berkshire County members are Skinner, Anita Barker on behalf of Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, North Adams City Councilor Gailanne Cariddi, and Jana Hunkler Brule from the town of Florida. The U.S. Department of Energy was supposed to take possession of the waste and remove it to a permanent storage facility -- at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. However, the Yucca Mountain project has met numerous delays and will not be ready until 2012 at the earliest. Until then, most nuclear waste remains at the site where it was generated. Yankee Rowe's parent company, Yankee Atomic, is owned by a consortium of New England utilities. The costs of dismantling the site, and the ongoing costs of maintaining and guarding the fuel, are borne by their electric utility customers. Yankee Atomic is among the parties to a lawsuit against the federal government to recover some of the costs of storing the fuel after the government failed to meet its contractual obligation. Yankee Atomic always keeps an eye on temporary waste storage solutions. In May, Congress came close to approving a plan for temporary storage. The House of Representatives' version of the federal budget included calls for the Energy Department to put together a plan for aboveground storage for reactor fuel at a handful of federal laboratory and weapon sites in South Carolina, Washington state and Idaho. The budget called for $10 million in funding, and the government was to begin accepting the fuel by October 2006. However, the idea was defeated earlier this month in the Senate. Alternatives also are being pursued by the utility owners themselves, including a consortium of private nuclear owners who are seeking to create a temporary dump at Skull Valley Goshute Indian reservation in Utah. And although Yankee Atomic is not part of that plan, spokeswoman Kelley Smith said Yankee certainly would consider something like that. Keeping the material around presents a major logistical challenge, and it is carefully monitored. Officials in Vermont recently discovered that a 250-foot retaining wall along the West Branch of the Deerfield River, behind Readsboro General Store, was built with concrete blocks from Yankee Rowe and is slightly radioactive. The blocks, which are contaminated with the radioactive isotope tritium, were taken from the plant site by the store's owner, with the company's permission. State and federal health officials say the wall poses no health risk. Tests by the Vermont Department of Health show that the wall is releasing 1 millirem of radioactivity a year above normal background levels of radioactivity, which is estimated at 360 millirems a year. Smith said Yankee Atomic discovered and reported the removal. "It was a self-identified issue," she said. "We have stringent regulations we have to abide by, and it was clear this was licensed material, and we needed proper paperwork." According to regulations, all material from the site is "licensed material," which must be stored or disposed of at a licensed site. Smith said they have filed a request for an exemption with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission so that the wall can remain in place. The investigation is expected to take several months. And once a permanent site for the nuclear waste is decided on, the issue of transportation will become more pressing. Advisory board members said the topic has been discussed, but not in any great detail. Meanwhile, the demolition process will continue through the summer with the demolition of pipes and other subsurface materials. Grading work and planting are expected to start later in the year. According to plans, the company will continue to own the 1,800-acre site, but will lease much of it to the town for recreational use. However, a 90-acre patch will remain the interim home of the 16 spent nuclear fuel casks. And although the amount of waste piles up at plants that are still running -- more than 54,000 tons in 31 states -- the question of what to do with it remains, even as the Bush administration supports research into a new generation of civilian nuclear power. Administration officials have touted nuclear power's relative cleanness -- it has no emissions -- and the potential of using it as a possible source of hydrogen for emission-free vehicles. On a visit to the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Maryland last Wednesday, Bush pointed out that no new plants have been built in the United States since the 1970s, while in that time France has built 58 and China has built eight and plans on 40 more in the next 20 years. "In the 21st century, our nation will need more electricity, more safe, clean, reliable electricity," Bush said. "It is time for this country to start building nuclear power plants again." But Barker, who is on the Yankee Rowe board, said that without a solution to the waste problem, the idea is misguided. "They only talk about how clean nuclear power is, but they don't talk about the end result," she said. "Until they have an end result, I don't think nuclear is the answer." Material from the Associated Press was used in this article. Christopher Marcisz can be reached at cmarcisz@berkshireeagle.com or at (413) 664-4995. -------- virginia Northrop Grumman unveils training facility The nuclear specialists are an important part of the shipyard work force. Just don't ask what they do. BY CHRIS FLORES 247-4738 June 25, 2005 Hampton Roads Daily Press http://www.dailypress.com/business/local/dp-40040sy0jun25,0,7080083.story?coll=dp-business-localheads NEWPORT NEWS -- By next year, Northrop Grumman Newport News' nuclear workers won't need to endure long walks or be forced to navigate through a maze of buildings along Washington Avenue to attend classes anymore. Construction on a new training facility between 46th and 47th streets and Washington and Huntington avenues will begin in the next few weeks and be completed by May 2006. About 100 instructors and staff eventually will train about 350 workers at a time in the building. The energy industry has struggled to replace its aging employees who run nuclear power plants with a smaller number of new nuclear engineers who are entering the workforce. But the shipyard hasn't faced that problem because it has such a large pool of workers onsite to train. "We have a very large workforce, of which a small component is the nuclear workforce," said Danny Hunley, the vice president of trades, education and training for Northrop Grumman Newport News. But Hunley also said that replacing the wave of workers who will retire in the near future is a challenge in all specialties. By keeping a trained pool of workers in the pipeline, the shipyard will stay ahead of competitors facing the same issues, said Hunley. Only the top echelon of the workforce find their way into the nuclear jobs at the yard, said Hunley. It's rare for someone to go immediately into a nuclear position at Northrop Grumman New port News, he said. "You come in as an entry-level employee and work your way up the ranks," said Hunley. Mark Seaton, a radiological control instructor at the shipyard, said a wide variety of specialists need to be trained to work around nuclear material. "Any trade in the shipyard, we train them how to do their jobs under radiological controls," said Seaton. While nuclear engineers receive detailed training in college, they get regular refresher courses at the shipyard. Workers learn the basics about radiation and contamination and how to work safely around radiological components and materials. "We train them how to avoid getting hurt or exposed," said Seaton. Most of the training is focused on a specific trade, like a pipe-fitter. But all the workers are keenly aware that much of the nuclear work is classified and are tight-lipped about what they do. Employee Jerry Bulles, who works on ventilation projects on ships, would only say that his training involves "how to take care of a situation" that involves nuclear material. "You have to be able to respect it and know what you're around," said Tom Gilliam, a welder at the yard. The shipyard's nuclear activities are regulated by Navy standards. Seaton said these rules are as restrictive or more than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which monitors power plants and industries that use nuclear devices. The new building will not be licensed to hold nuclear material, said Seaton. Employees learn how to work in situations that would involve nuclear material without using it. TMI 25 Years Later The Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Accident and its Impact www.psupress.org Nuclear Power Plants Nuclear News Wall Maps of Commercial Nuclear Power Plants http://www.ans.org Nuclear Medicine Nuclear Medicine School And Employment Resources. http://www.RadiologyWorkers.com -------- MILITARY -------- iran Iran elects hardline new leader BBC NEWS: 2005/06/25 01:14:57 GMT http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4621249.stm The ultra-conservative mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won a landslide victory in Iran's presidential poll. Mr Ahmadinejad won 62% of votes, defying predictions of a close race, to defeat the more moderate ex-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. After his win, Mr Ahmadinejad said he planned to create a "modern, advanced and Islamic" role model for the world. His victory means all the organs of the Iranian state are now in the hands of conservative hardliners. Mr Ahmadinejad, 49, who campaigned on a conservative Islamic platform, had surprised observers by beating five other candidates in the first round to reach the run-off. The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says his taped statement, broadcast on state radio after the result was announced, was aimed at easing worries about his conservative views. Some 22 million people voted in this run-off poll - a turnout of 60%, down from 63% in the first round a week ago. Our correspondent says it was Mr Ahmadinejad's appeal to the poor that seems to be the secret to his success. Despite Iran's huge oil wealth the country has high unemployment and a big gap between rich and poor. 'Flawed' election Mr Ahmadinejad has also pledged to tackle corruption and resist Western "decadence". OFFICIAL RESULTS Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 61.6% Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani: 35.9% Turnout: 60% Source: Iranian interior ministry His defeated rival Mr Rafsanjani, 70, was president from 1989-97. He was the favourite going into the election and had re-cast himself as a liberal who was more willing to engage with the West. The US said the election was "flawed" and described it as "out of step" with regional trends towards democracy. In Washington, a state department official said the US would judge Iran under Mr Ahmadinejad by its actions. "In light of the way these elections were conducted, however, we remain sceptical that the Iranian regime is interested in addressing either the legitimate desires of its own people, or the concerns of the broader international community," the spokeswoman said. UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said there were "serious deficiencies" in the election, noting that many reformists, and all women candidates, had been barred from standing. "I hope that under Mr Ahmadinejad's presidency, Iran will take early steps to address international concerns about its nuclear programme" as well as its policies toward terrorism, human rights and the Middle East peace process, Mr Straw said in a statement. 'Profound humiliation' Supporters of Mr Rafsanjani said before the result that victory for Mr Ahmadinejad would signal voting fraud. Reformist candidates accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Basij security services of orchestrating a plot to boost Mr Ahmadinejad. Interior ministry officials monitoring polling stations received some 300 complaints of electoral violations in Tehran alone, the Associated Press news agency reports. The Guardian Council, which ran the poll, has dismissed allegations of election fraud. Mr Ahmadinejad will be Iran's first non-cleric president for 24 years when he takes office in August. Iran's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, banned both camps from celebrating victory and urged people to keep off the streets. He said the election result was a "profound humiliation" for the US. -------- ACTIVISTS Scott Ritter, Ex-U.N. inspector: U.S. already at war with Iran By ANITA FRITZ Recorder Staff http://www.recorder.com June 25, 2005 - page created by Charlie Jenks http://www.traprockpeace.org/scott_ritter_23june05.html DEERFIELD - A former weapons inspector told a full house Thursday that the United States is already at war with Iran and has become a terrorist state itself, referring to bombings in Iraq and the CIA's collaborations with the terrorist organization Mujahedin-e Khalq. Almost 100 people gathered at Traprock Peace Center at Woolman Hill to hear Scott Ritter, the former United Nations weapons inspector, talk about U.S. intentions concerning Iran and what citizens can do now to stop another war. An historical second-round election runoff for Iran's next president was under way as Ritter spoke. He said the U.S. has defiled its reputation by engaging in the same tactics in Iraq and Iran as the terrorists it chases. "We declared a war on terror and those who practice terror," said Ritter. "Are we going to declare war on ourselves?" Ritter said the United States has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran since last summer. He said people would be stunned to know that the U.S. is at war with Iran. "There hasn't been a national debate and the president hasn't declared war." He said it all sounds very familiar. "The war in Iraq began in September of 2002, not March of 2003 like most would think," said Ritter. "And the Bush administration fabricated intelligence to back up its decision to go to war. Later, it manipulated the results of Iraq's elections," he said. "We're being told a lot of lies and the media is following blindly and parroting information," said Ritter. He said the Bush administration's goal for Iran is the destruction of the country's alleged program to develop nuclear weapons. Ritter said he believes the goal is to attack the oil-rich nation with the hopes of leading to a regime change as in Iraq. Ritter said Iran has a nuclear energy program, not a nuclear weapons program as the administration would like Americans to believe. "They just want to live like we do," said Ritter. "In order to survive, Iran needs an alternative energy supply. Who are we to say they can't have that?" Ritter said the president and his administration know it's an energy program. "The media knows it as well and I'm just afraid that two or three years from now, when the truth comes out, the media will say it's old news. It's not newsworthy," he said. "This kind of information gets buried on page A21. However, the runaway bride will never go away. She's been branded in the mindset of America," he said. Ritter told people they need to acknowledge and accept that the battle to stop the war has been lost and the United States will pay a heavy price. "This is our Pearl Harbor. The U.S. has taken a big hit and it's going to take a long time to dig out." He said the peace movement needs to go back to the grass-roots level. "You all need to help teach people what it means to be an American," said Ritter. "As Americans we've sworn an oath of allegiance to the Constitution. Most don't even know what the document means and the current administration is dismissive of it." Ritter said people have to become true citizens and hold the president and his administration accountable for not following the Constitution. "(The effects of war) is going to be a decades-long struggle for America," said Ritter. "We may be called the United States in years to come, but if we don't do something about educating ourselves, we won't really be the United States according to that document," he said. "I wouldn't give my life for this and I wouldn't expect anyone else to," said Ritter. You can reach Anita Fritz at: afritz@recorder.com or (413) 772-0261 Ext. 280 We wish to thank Ed Russell of activeingredients.org for doing the recording and offering sound editing advice. Norman Lerchen videotaped the talk. Charlie Jenks took photos and edited the auio for sound quality only. We are preparing a DVD and audio CD of this important talk for distribution. We also give our thanks to David Dashefsky, Traprock intern and Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) Coordinating Committee member from SUNY at Geneseo, for serving as head chef. Sally Weiss assisted David in preparing the food, and Charles Peterson (CAN at Holyoke Community College) and Annie Zirin (Western Massachusetts Chapter of the International Socialist Organization) helped with serving. A number of people helped with cleanup - thank you. We thank the Woolman Hill Conference Center for their kind courtesies, and Scott Ritter for giving generously of his time. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Traprock Peace Center's Core Group or supporters. When Traprock decides to publish the audio of a program, we present it all and leave it to the public to decide what to agree with, and what not to agree with. As we endeavor to present audio that is suitable for radio airplay, we do edit for sound quality and continuity, e.g. edits of introductions, 'housekeeping' announcements, sustained applause and such. Traprock Peace Center 103A Keets Road, Woolman Hill Deerfield, MA 01342 Phone: (413) 773-7427; Fax:(413)773-7507