NucNews - August 22, 2005 -------- NUCLEAR Present Danger Commentary Sixty Years Without Nuclear War By Zia Mian, R. Rajaraman and Frank von Hippel | August 22, 2005 Editor: John Gershman, IRC Project Against the Present Danger http://presentdanger.org http://presentdanger.irc-online.org/pd/363 It is now sixty years since the destruction of Nagasaki, the last use of nuclear weapons in war. It is a time to both celebrate the survival of civilization and to confront the continuing nuclear danger. Given that there have been tens of thousands of nuclear weapons in the world’s arsenals for the past 50 years, the fact that we are still here is testimony to a remarkable display of self-restraint by our often savage nation-states. This is due in part to our luck in political and military leaders. But much credit is due to writers such as John Hersey, who taught a whole generation about the hell on earth that one modest-sized nuclear explosion created for the people of Hiroshima. The most credit is due to the millions who marched in the streets when the nuclear arms race seemed to be getting out of control or governments seemed to be considering nuclear use. The uprisings in the U.S. and Western Europe in the early 1980s were especially important in giving Gorbachev reason to hope that, if he pulled the Soviet Union out of the arms race, the U.S. would follow. The mutual fears that generated the huge Soviet and U.S. nuclear arsenals faded and large cuts were made that are still being implemented. Unfortunately, the waning of public concern since the end of the Cold War has removed a critical restraining influence on nuclear-weapon decisionmakers. The U.S. stockpile is programmed to still include about 6,000 operational warheads at the end of 2012 with 1,000 ready to launch within about 15 minutes. Russia is expected to have a similar nuclear posture. Even though the two countries are no longer adversaries, their nuclear arsenals continue to justify each other. Russia and the U.S. may possess over 90% of the world’s nuclear explosives. But even Britain, China, and France, the next three states to go nuclear, each have enough warheads to destroy civilization. Israel, India, and Pakistan have somewhat fewer weapons, but are still building up. Since 1970, the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty has committed the first five nuclear-weapon states to disarm in exchange for other states foregoing nuclear weapons. In 2000, the five nuclear-weapon states made a number of specific near-term commitments. These included bringing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty into force and negotiating a verifiable ban on the production of further plutonium and highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. However, all this is unraveling. This spring, the Bush administration blocked a statement by the parties to the Non-proliferation Treaty that would simply have noted the commitments that had been made in 2000. In that same five-year period, North Korea has built nuclear weapons, the world learned that Pakistan had put its nuclear technology on the market, and that Iran had been developing a nuclear-weapon option in secret. The Bush administration’s preoccupation with containing China has furthered this unraveling. Its recent nuclear deal with India seems to have left it up to India to decide which of its civilian nuclear facilities and materials it can re-label as military and therefore not subject to international inspection. If India decides to sweep some of its civilian reactors, its spent fuel, or already separated plutonium inside the military fence, it could quickly build a very much bigger arsenal. Reasonable people in India and elsewhere should resist this. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s government has already demanded the same deal as India. It is easy to imagine generals, nationalist politicians, and nuclear scientists in other countries now wanting to try their luck. Who would have thought that, out of the ashes of the Cold War, a new nuclear arms race could emerge with many more participants? But then who would have thought that twenty years later the U.S. and Russia would each still have 6,000 nuclear warheads? The nuclear-weapon states and wannabes must be made to understand the message of the past 60 years. Nuclear weapons cannot be used and must be contained and eliminated. The alternative is a future in which nuclear weapons become truly global and permanent--until our luck runs out. Zia Mian is a Pakistani physicist at Princeton University. R. Rajaraman is professor of physics emeritus at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. Frank von Hippel is a professor of public and international affairs at Princeton. They are all regular contributors to Foreign Policy In Focus (www.fpif.org). For More Information Unraveling of the U.S. Military By Zia Mian (August 22, 2005) http://presentdanger.irc-online.org/pd/375 A New American Century? By Zia Mian (May 4, 2005) http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2005/0505amcent.html U.S.-Russian Lessons for South Asia By Zia Mian, R. Rajaraman, and Frank von Hippel (August 2, 2002) http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2002/0208nukelessons.html Nuclear War in South Asia By Matthew McKinzie, Zia Mian, M.V. Ramana, and A.H. Nayyar (June 2002) http://www.fpif.org/papers/nuclearsasia.html -------- asia Bangladesh-China cooperation Bangladesh New Nation Aug 22, 2005, 12:22 http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/printer_21070.shtml Bangladesh and China, as two good and trusted friends, have reaffirmed their commitment to intensify bilateral cooperation in various fields including assistance for the once much talked-about Rooppur Nuclear power Plant for peaceful use of nuclear energy besides boosting trade and investment as reflected through signing of six documents during the visit of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to Beijing. She returned Friday night, two days ahead of schedule following Wednesday’s serial blasts across the country, though she had to undertake the tour within four months of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s Dhaka visit to demonstrate Bangladesh’s closeness, ever expanding cooperation and total understanding in this ‘year of friendship’ marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Begum Zia had wide-ranging talks with Mr. Jiabao, obviously, covering regional and global issues in the context of changing situation apart from reviewing bilateral relations. Another interesting and significant aspect of the outcome is that China has agreed to allow duty-free access to more Bangladeshi products to its market in addition to 83 items agreed to earlier and invest in gas-based industries in Bangladesh and the products would be exported to China. As excellent relations exist between the two friendly countries in this part of Asia, China may avail the opportunity of having ‘an exclusive export- processing zone’ for itself in Bangladesh as offered by Prime Minister Begum Zia during her meeting with Chinese investors who representing top business companies expressed their intent to invest in various sectors, particularly in chemical, mining and power plants. In fact, she called for a “strategic partnership” to be developed between Dhaka and Beijing for creating an integrated supply chain for the global market when the emergence of a global production system has created new opportunities for both. In this regard, she pointed out Bangladesh’s proximity to India presents a unique opportunity for investors to get access to a region having one-fifth of the world's population. The two top level visits within the shortest possible time — first by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to Dhaka in April and later by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to Beijing last week —demonstrate the warmest relations and closest understanding that exist between the two nations and would, undoubtedly, help expand further their bilateral cooperation in all possible fields in the coming days for their mutual benefit. -------- canada Ontario Can't Do CANDU PAUL WEBSTER, August 22, 2005 Science Magazine http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2005/822/3?etoc TORONTO--Facing a $1.6-billion repair bill, the government of Ontario decided last week to mothball two 540-megawatt Canada Deuterium-Uranium (CANDU) nuclear reactors more than a decade before their projected retirement date. The decision could be a mortal blow for the domestically engineered reactors, whose unique design allows them to be refueled without going off-line. The reactors, manufactured by the government-owned Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), are two of eight located at the Pickering Nuclear Station in the Toronto area. Built in the 1970s, they've been idled since 1997 largely because of thinning in the hundreds of pipes carrying heavy water coolant from the reactor core. Two years ago, three other laid-up Ontario reactors were restarted after refurbishments costing billions of dollars, and their operators now say more repairs are not far off. Some 34 large commercial versions have been built and installed around the world, including 20 in Ontario. Experts point to the corrosive effect of the heavy water coolant as a major culprit, with the reactor's design contributing to the large repair bills. "Just getting at the pipes is fantastically difficult, dangerous, and expensive," says Frank Greening, former head of nuclear cooling systems analysis at Ontario Power Generation (OPG), the government utility that owns all of Ontario's CANDUs. Even for reactors where the coolant feeder pipes haven't yet deteriorated, says John Luxat, president of the Canadian Nuclear Society and OPG's former head of nuclear safety, "the costs of demonstrating [their safety] are becoming a problem." Ken Petrunik, AECL's chief operating officer, says the CANDUs, which cost about $1.5 billion new, "perform well in their early years" and that their ability to refuel on-line has yielded "better performance results than any other reactor type in the world." He downplays the impact of Ontario's decision to mothball two reactors by noting that AECL is only weeks away from launching a sales campaign for an advanced version of the CANDU reactor that will compete with new designs from other countries (Science, 19 August, p. 1168). Still, CANDU's future seems dim. In January the reactor company's U.S. partner, Dominion Resources of Richmond, Virginia, decided to abandon plans to seek a U.S. license for its next-generation CANDU. And in May, Chinese authorities announced that they weren't interested in buying any units beyond the two 700-megawatt units already operating near Shanghai. -------- depleted uranium Military radiation poisoning discussed By JESSIE SALISBURY UK Telegraph Correspondent Published: Monday, Aug. 22, 2005 http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050822/NEWS01/108220073/-1/news WILTON – The military is using depleted uranium as ammunition and warheads, the so-called Gulf War syndrome is actually radiation sickness, and nobody is doing anything to stop it or to help the ill service people. That is the message in “Poison Dust,” a film by the Peoples Video Network shown Sunday during the ongoing Confronting the Issues program at the Town Hall. The films are sponsored by Women Making a Difference, a local nonpartisan group bringing various issues to the public. About 40 people attended the showing. A discussion after the film was led by William Thomas, a Cold War veteran and retired Concord teacher; World War II veteran Jack Minassian of Hollis and Nancy Iannuzzelli, an Amherst resident who is promoting two petitions concerning the subject. Thomas and Minassian are members of Veterans For Peace, a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 to oppose U.S. supported wars. Their mission is to increase awareness of the costs of wars, end the arms race, reduce the use of nuclear weapons and seek justice for veterans. New Hampshire Reps. Jeb Bradley and Charles Bass have been asked to co-sponsor two bills before Congress, Thomas said, but neither have committed. House Bill 202 would provide for identification of members of the armed forces exposed during military duty to depleted uranium and provide for health testing of such people. House Bill 2410 requires studies regarding the effects of exposure to depleted uranium and the cleanup and mitigation of contamination of sites of depleted uranium production in the United States. Williams said several members of the New York National Guard are going to file a lawsuit in federal court against the U.S. Army charging that they were not provided adequate protection against depleted uranium while in Iraq. The film related the problems of several national guardsmen and career servicemen who suffer from radiation poisoning but have received little on no help. They suffer from various sorts of cancer and other problems, and one has had a child with severe birth defects. Testing has been minimal, and they have been told their problems are “psychological.” Depleted uranium is part of the tons of waste created by the manufacture of nuclear bombs. It is about 60 percent as radioactive as bomb-grade uranium. More information can be obtained from Minassian at semajack@aol.com and from Iannuzzelli at niannuzzelli@hotmail.com. The film series will conclude next Sunday with “Mercury,” contamination of New Hampshire wells. The discussion will be led by Catherine Corkery, president of the N.H. Sierra Club. Films are shown at 4:30 p.m. Donations are accepted. -------- india India to watch U.S. laws on nuke transfers By KUSHAL JEENA, Aug. 22, 2005 (UPI) http://interestalert.com/story/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/08220002aaa043bb.upi&Sys=siteia&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World NEW DELHI -- India is closely watching changes to U.S. laws on restrictions to the transfer of civil nuclear energy technology to India. "Before we take up any reciprocal steps, we have to closely watch what happens to the U.S. laws on restrictions and lifting of embargo and the nuclear suppliers' group front, " said Anil Kakodkar, chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission on Sunday. He said the process followed the historic Indo-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President Bush signed last month. "The act of identification and segregation of the civilian and military nuclear facilities in India will be taken up in a phased manner, and is going to be purely on reciprocal basis, " Kakodkar said, The Indian Express newspaper said Monday. Under last month's deal, Washington agreed to supply nuclear energy to India for its civilian program in return for India allowing the inspection of its civilian nuclear installation by International Atomic Energy Agency. Kakodkar said there was recognition that India was fundamentally strong in research and nuclear technology development. He said it was important to recognize India's growing economy needed large energy input, adding over the next five decades, the country would need 10 times more electricity and so nuclear power was crucial. ---- Global experts to review risks from natural disasters in India China View (Xinhuanet) 2005-08-22 20:55:06 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-08/22/content_3389544.htm NEW DELHI, Aug. 22 -- Global experts will gather at India's Kalpakkam nuclear power plant in southern Tamil Nadu statethis month to review risks from natural disasters like the tsunamiin December that led to flooding in the vital installation. The five-day International Workshop on External Flooding Hazards at Nuclear Power Plant Sites will begin Aug. 29 at the Kalpakkam plant, which withstood the giant waves that engulfed the small township in Tamil Nadu when the tsunami struck Dec. 26, 2004. "Learning from the lessons of this latest tsunami as well as from other flood events that occurred in the past will allow the review, revision and expansion, as appropriate for the agency safety standards on external flooding hazards," Ken Brockman, nuclear installation safety director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement Monday. The 17-country workshop at Kalpakkam will have Japan providing guidance on how it has put in place systems to protect reactors against earthquakes and tsunamis, it said. Countries like France, whose Le Blayais reactor was hit by severe storms in December 1999,will also present case studies. Battered but safe, the Kalpakkam plant shut down automatically after detectors tripped it as the water level rose. There was no release of radioactivity. The reactor was restarted Jan. 1, 2005, six days after the catastrophic waves struck India's east coast. The IAEA issued the Kalpakkam reactor a clean bill of health inthe tsunami's wake, rating the event a 'zero' or of 'no safety significance' on the international nuclear events scale. Around 3.5 cubic meters of seawater, sludge and muck had entered a construction pit at the Kalpakkam plant, where the foundations for a new Fast Breeder Reactor were being built. Water also entered a pump house for cooling water, tripping the nuclear power plant to shut down. The IAEA has stringent safety standards designed to guard nuclear power plants against natural calamities like earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding, tsunamis and cyclones. The non-legally binding guidelines cover site and design requirements as well as appropriate monitoring and warning systems. -------- iran Iran and Diplomacy How the negotiating strategy is working so far. Monday, August 22, 2005 12:01 a.m. WSJ.com OpinionJournal http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007141 For two years now, the Bush Administration has willingly taken a back seat to European diplomacy to induce Iran to abandon its nuclear-weapons program. In the last few weeks, the world has been able to see what this non-cowboy strategy has achieved: • Iran's new president has called for "a wave of Islamic revolution." Only a few years ago, this new world statesman was running gangs of street thugs who harassed anti-government demonstrators. His political rise was engineered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini, who barred 1,000 reformist candidates from the recent parliamentary elections. • Last week, Iranian police opened fire on a peaceful demonstration of Iranian Kurds in the city of Mahabad, reportedly killing four of the protestors. Meanwhile, dissident journalist Akbar Ganji is on his 75th day of a prison hunger strike, and prosecutors are now threatening his family. • On the nuclear issue, Tehran has resumed an early-stage uranium enrichment process at its nuclear site in Isfahan. And it has denounced as "unacceptable" a European offer to provide security and economic favors in exchange for Iran dropping parts of its nuclear program that have bomb-making uses. Memri, which translates Middle East broadcasts from their native languages, recently captured Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Hosein Musavian, on Iranian TV: "Thanks to the negotiations with Europe, we gained another year, in which we completed" Isfahan. Iran suspended enrichment "in Isfahan in October 2004, although we were required to do so in October 2003. . . . Today we are in a position of power. We have a stockpile of products, and during this period we have managed to convert 36 tons of yellowcake into gas and store it." • Then there is Iranian assistance for terrorists in Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has publicly accused Iran of "allowing" weapons to move across its Western border, and U.S. troops have captured explosives shaped for destructive terror use with Iranian pedigrees. Time magazine, no friend of the U.S. effort in Iraq, recently published a report, "Inside Iran's Secret War for Iraq." This is all especially notable because advocates of courting the mullahs often warn that a harder line against Tehran could invite Iranian meddling in Iraq. But that meddling is a reality under current Iran policy, and it is killing American soldiers. The Iranians themselves are now admitting that all of this is no happenstance but is a calculated effort to exploit what the mullahs perceive to be American weakness and Europe's lack of will. An internal Iranian government document recently obtained by an opposition group says that "The talks process ended the suffocating economic pressures that our country was being subjected to in the months prior to the October 2003 agreement. . . . With the Americans deeply stuck in a quagmire in Iraq, the Europeans know that they will have to ultimately accommodate our just demands." And why shouldn't the mullahs believe this, given Europe's reaction to President Bush's routine recent comments that "all options are on the table" regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions? German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, facing an uphill election campaign, seized on the remark as an opportunity to repudiate even the possibility of using force. "We have seen it doesn't work," he declared, in a reference to Iraq. (Saddam Hussein might argue from his holding cell that it does.) No one can plausibly claim that this Iranian hardline has been inspired by U.S. saber-rattling. Since including Iran in the original "axis of evil" in 2002, Mr. Bush has softened his rhetoric on Iran to a near-whisper. The Administration agreed to European mediation efforts in October 2003, and agreed again in 2004 after Iran cheated on its initial commitments by secretly enriching uranium. Then the U.S. agreed again to another try earlier this year, this time offering World Trade Organization membership. Tehran's response has been evident the last few weeks. Perhaps it's time to try a different strategy. We aren't referring here to economic sanctions via the U.N. Security Council. China and Russia aren't likely to agree to sanctions, and even if they did (after many months of haggling) Iran may think it can ride them out in a world of $60 oil. Leaving aside--but not ruling out--the option of military intervention, the Iranian regime is vulnerable to diplomatic pressure from without and even more so to democratic pressure from below. Yet the Bush Administration has given comparatively little support to Iranian pro-democracy groups, and it has made no effort to organize bans on Iranian participation in prestigious international forums or at sporting and cultural events. Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy suggests, for starters, barring the Iranian national soccer team from the World Cup. Perhaps even this is too militant for the likes of Chancellor Schröder. But it would be the beginning of a serious Iran policy. -------- japan Japan must not delay N-waste disposal plan The Daily Yomiuri Publication Date : 2005-08-22 http://www.asianewsnet.net/level3_template3.php?l3sec=7&news_id=44374 Japan is faced with a serious issue that could threaten the long-term future of its atomic power program -- no location has yet been chosen as a long-term geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste that results from the fuel spent by nuclear power reactors to produce electricity. Municipal governments have been invited to offer a site for the storage of nuclear waste while it decays and becomes harmless. No municipality has reacted to date. The central government and the power industry must make an all-out effort to resolve the impasse. In 2000, a law was enacted to manage high-level radioactive waste from the reprocessing of spent fuel by solidifying the waste into glass. Conforming to the legislation, the cabinet adopted a long-term disposal plan that envisages the selection of a storage site by 2028 with disposal beginning in 2038. Time running out The plan may give the impression that there is plenty of time before its implementation. The reality, however, is that municipalities need to declare their candidacy for providing nuclear waste storage in the next couple of years, otherwise the cabinet decision will prove useless considering the amount of time needed to conduct environmental and geologic surveys and complete other procedures. The government is currently in the process of reviewing the plan, which the law stipulates must be conducted every five years. But it must be pointed out that the country cannot afford to delay the disposal plan any longer simply because of the approach of the deadline set by the initial cabinet decision. Aomori Prefecture is temporarily storing high-level radioactive waste on the premise that a permanent storage site will be built elsewhere as scheduled in the government plan. A delay in locating a permanent site will certainly provoke bitter reaction from the Aomori prefectural government, and threaten to stall the existing process for disposal of nuclear waste. The reluctance by municipalities to step forward reflects a widespread perception that nuclear waste is dangerous." The central government, the power industry and the Nuclear Waste Management Organisation of Japan, which is responsible for the disposal and storage project, should undertake an appropriate, plain language, public relations effort about the safety of the project. High-level radioactive waste is a by-product of the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel to extract unburned uranium and plutonium. Such waste is liquid and must be solidified into glass -- glassification or vitrification -- to be disposed of in a repository that would be constructed in a solid rock layer more than 300 meters below ground. Low risk waste disposal Glassification enables nuclear waste to be stored as a solid and has an extremely low risk of dissolving. Even if the worst case scenario -- dissolution of solidified waste -- occurs, the rock layer is believed to be effective in preventing any radioactive contamination of the surface. The radioactivity of the glassified waste will decrease over time. There is almost no danger of environmental destruction of the area where the proposed storage site would be located. The government plans to extend subsidies to municipalities willing to host a high-level radioactive waste storage site. It is important to draw up a special plan to show the exact benefit a host municipality can expect from the government's fiscal assistance and electric power companies' cooperation. The government should devise an effective approach to encourage municipalities to offer a helping hand so that the country will be able to continue using nuclear power in a stable and sustainable way. ---- TEPCO to shut Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear unit Monday August 22, 6:48 PM (Reuters) http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050822/3/2624l.html TOKYO, Aug 22 - Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) , Asia's biggest utility, said on Monday it will manually shut down the No. 5 nuclear power generation unit at its Fukushima-Daiichi plant for unplanned inspections. It said the manual shutdown process for the 784,000-kilowatt unit in northern Japan will start at 11 p.m. (1400 GMT). The company has decided to shut down the unit, as it suspects a technical problem with one of the emergency coolant systems for the nuclear power generator. "We need to stop the unit to check whether there really is a problem," said a TEPCO spokesman. -------- korea U.S., S. Korea hold military drills ahead of nuclear talks Mon Aug 22, 2005 2:25 AM ET (Reuters) http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050822/ts_nm/korea_drills_dc_2 SEOUL - The United States and South Korea on Monday began annual war games that North Korea calls a show of force aimed at making Pyongyang cave in to U.S. demands that it dismantle its nuclear weapons programs. The military exercises called Ulchi Focus Lens are computer-simulated drills designed to test U.S. and South Korean readiness and coordination of command posts. North Korea regularly calls any joint exercises between the two allies preparations for war on the peninsula. With six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs scheduled to resume the week of August 29, the North's media was even more critical than usual. The exercises come "at a time when the U.S. war preparations have reached their final phase," the official KCNA news agency said on Saturday. The North's army said earlier this month the drills were designed to "force the DPRK to accept the unjust demands raised by the U.S. at the six-party talks," according to official media reports. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea has insisted at the six-party talks on retaining the right to operate a civilian nuclear program. Washington wants Pyongyang to forswear all nuclear programs in return for energy aid and security guarantees. The talks include the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. The drills will run until September 2, the U.S. and South Korean Combined Forces Command said in a statement. The United States has about 32,000 troops on the Korean peninsula. U.S. officials have repeatedly said Washington has no intention of invading the North. South and North Korea are technically at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in a truce and not a peace treaty. ---- US, North Korea make third contact to break nuclear impasse Mon Aug 22, 2:45 PM ET (AFP) http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050822/wl_afp/usnkoreanuclear_050822184537 WASHINGTON - The United States and North Korea held direct talks for the third time during a recess in multilateral negotiations to end the Stalinist state's nuclear weapons program, the State Department said. "There has been, again, today one, through the New York channel, diplomatic contact," department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. He did not give details on what was discussed Monday with the North Korean officials based in Pyongyang's mission at the United Nations in New York. The two countries have no diplomatic relations. Aside from the discussions Monday, there were two bilateral contacts last week using the New York channel. "I think at this point I'm just going to say that it was a diplomatic exchange. Not going to get into the details of the diplomatic exchange. Only to say that it is part of the diplomatic process in anticipation of the second part of this round of negotiations," McCormack said. "But I will make clear that the six-party talks are the place for negotiation, and all of these diplomatic contacts take place within the framework of the six-party talks," he added. The United States is also holding separate discussions with China, South Korea and Japan ahead of the resumption of the six-party talks in Beijing on an as yet unspecified day during the week of August 29. The six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan broke off on August 7 for three weeks without any sign of agreement on how to get the Stalinist state to abandon atomic weapons. A key sticking point was North Korea's insistence on the right to retain a civilian nuclear program to produce energy, a demand rejected by the United States given Pyongyang's apparent failure to contain such a program to peaceful purposes in the past. Christopher Hill, the chief US negotiator to the six-party talks, had expressed hope that a so-called statement of principles between the parties could be wrapped up as early as September, allowing a crisis-ending deal to follow quickly. ---- S. Korea, Canada To Talk About Nuclear Reactor Safety (Yonhap) Monday August 22, 06:37 PM http://au.news.yahoo.com/050822/3/vm17.html SEOUL, Aug 22 Asia Pulse - South Korea and Canada will discuss ways to refurbish aged local nuclear reactors that are reaching the end of their useful life, officials said Monday. Vice Science and Technology Minister Choi Seok-sik will meet with visiting president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission,Linda Keen, Tuesday to hold talks on the subject and other safety issues, according to the officials at the ministry. Seoul has been considering extending the service life of the Gori-1 reactor near Ulsan that is approaching the end of its 30-year operational life in 2008. The Gori-1 was the first operational reactor to be built in South Korea and began generating electricity in April 1978. Extending the life of Gori-1 and other reactors would require upgrading to be carried out and the assistance of outside consultants, the officials said. At present, South Korea has 20 nuclear reactors that generate roughly 40 percent of the country's electricity needs. Countries like Canada, the United States and France have in the past provided valuable assistance in the construction of South Korea's nuclear energy industry that is now capable of building it own reactors with minimum outside assistance. According to the ministry, South Korea and Canada may sign a memorandum of understanding on continued cooperation in the exchange of technical data and information in atomic energy generation. In addition, Choi and Keen are likely to discuss South Korea's bid to join the International Nuclear Regulators Association (INRA). The international body created in January 1997 is an association comprised of senior officials of the nuclear regulatory authorities from eight countries, including the United States, Japan, Britain, France and Canada. The INRA aims to influence and enhance nuclear reactor safety worldwide. ---- Doosan Heavy may bid for Westinghouse Electric Mon Aug 22, 2005 05:06 AM BST (Reuters) http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=833931§ion=finance&src=rss/uk/businessNews SEOUL - South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries (034020.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it was considering bidding for U.S. nuclear power plant builder Westinghouse Electric Co. from British nuclear energy company BNFL. Westinghouse provides nuclear fuel services, technology, plant design and equipment for nuclear power producers. BNFL had bought the business, which employs about 9,000 people, from Swiss engineer ABB in 1999. "We are considering bidding for U.S. Westinghouse," Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Ltd. said in a filing to the Korea Exchange, adding it would provide more details in a later filing. Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (7011.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said early last month it would offer to buy Westinghouse Electric, with the company's spokesman estimating the deal was worth about $1.78 billion. Washington is growing cautious about sales abroad of strategic energy-related companies, highlighted by the failed bid by CNOOC Ltd. of China for U.S. oil group Unocal Corp. (UCL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) . Shares in Doosan Heavy, whose total market capitalisation stands at $1.73 billion, rose 5.33 percent to 17,800 won by 0340 GMT, outpacing the broad market's 2.11 percent rise. -------- treaties Global Interest in Arms Control Rising, Book Says By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire Monday, August 22, 2005 http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_8_22.html#4EE2FD3C WASHINGTON — After years of little progress, there has been a recent resurgence of global efforts to encourage multilateral arms control, according to a recently published security almanac by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (see GSN, March 1). The change, it says, has accompanied a shift from focusing on developing universal arms control norms toward more ad hoc efforts, targeted at specific problems and often led by the United States. “A number of developments in 2004 suggest that there is a steady growing momentum behind international efforts to explore how global processes might be strengthened in order to achieve their potential as part of an emerging mosaic of arms control measures,” says the SIPRI Yearbook 2005, which was released this month. It cites as progress the April 2004 U.N. Security Council resolution 1540 urging states to tighten national controls and “criminalize” proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical capabilities; “widespread” international support for strengthened nuclear fuel cycle safeguards developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency; and an “action plan” endorsed by Chemical Weapons Convention parties in 2003 to encourage implementation of the treaty. It also notes a European Union “Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction,” approved by European national leaders in December 2003, which is intended to assign resources and give greater importance in European policy-making to arms control and nonproliferation issues. These developments followed nearly 10 years in which multilateral arms control negotiations produced little progress and in some cases “suffered severe setbacks,” says the article written by SIPRI nonproliferation and export controls project leader Ian Anthony. Move Toward Ad Hoc Efforts Momentum is moving away from promoting universal arms control measures, which historically have taken years of negotiations to produce, according to Anthony. “Recently, many of the most important security-related activities have taken place outside institutions — in coalitions of willing, ad hoc processes and regimes, and contact groups,” the article says. It cites Group of Eight activities, the launch of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, and the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative for interdicting suspected WMD materials. U.N. Security Council resolution 1540, presented as a binding measure but lacking clear criteria for compliance, was an effort to sidestep “the difficulty of securing universal adherence to multilateral agreements” through traditional negotiations, according to the article. Focus on such efforts, the book says, has to some degree marginalized the U.N. organization, as opposed to the Security Council, which traditionally has been committed to promoting “universal, nondiscriminatory measures that emphasize disarmament.” “It has been impossible to find practical solutions to security problems within the U.N. in conditions where the organization is not prepared to recognize the special role of the United States and will not give the USA a special status with enhanced privileges or accommodate the U.S. security policy agenda,” the article says. “The USA, which devotes far more national resources to military security issues than any other state, also allocates far greater financial and human resources to arms control than the rest of the U.N. members combined,” it says. The report concludes there is international consensus that no single approach, institution or process can create and enforce arms control rules. “An effective multilateralism must find ways for states, international organizations and informal arrangements to cooperate in pursuit of common objectives,” it says. -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- new jersey Feds to face nuclear plant foes on Wed. NRC reps to explain process on renewal for Oyster Creek Published in the Asbury Park Press 08/22/05 BY NICHOLAS CLUNN MANAHAWKIN BUREAU http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050822/NEWS/508220324/1070 IF YOU GO WHAT: Information session on Oyster Creek's license renewal application. WHEN: 7 p.m. Aug. 24. WHERE: Lacey High School, 73 Haines St. CONTACT: Neil A. Sheehan, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, (610) 337-5331. LACEY — Federal regulators on Wednesday will attempt to familiarize the public with the controversial process under which the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey would receive a renewed operating license, allowing it to stay open past 2009. The evening visit to the township by staff from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be the first of several opportunities for the public to participate in the renewal process, which has been criticized for having a limited scope. One outspoken critic, Berkeley resident Thomas Cervasio, said he wants the federal government to require scientists independent of the commission to assess the plant. Yet another impartial group, he said, should review the plant's emergency response plan. Cervasio said he will attend the meeting, though he may face renewal advocates from the plant's hometown. "That's enemy territory," he said about Lacey, the only Ocean County municipality to adopt a resolution supporting a license renewal for the oldest operating reactor in the country. During the meeting a few miles from the plant at Lacey High School, commission staff will explain the process and how the public can participate. The public then will have an opportunity to ask questions, according to the commission. Members of plant watchdog group Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety want to know how they can voice concerns, said member Jeff Brown of Brick. The group also wants to find out how government officials can take part, so it can guide and encourage elected leaders to get involved, he said. "It's important that Governor Codey comes out on this issue," he said. Since plant owner AmerGen filed its renewal application on July 22, commission staffers have been reading the document to make sure it contains enough information for regulators to begin evaluating its content more thoroughly. Regulators will ask AmerGen to provide additional information and will delay a formal review if they find holes in the application. Meanwhile, three pieces of federal legislation that would reform the renewal process await action by House and Senate committees. Almost identical bills introduced by Rep. H. James Saxton, R-N.J., in February and by Sen. Jon S. Corzine, D-N.J., in July would require the NRC to consider a plant's ability to store nuclear waste, its safety record, the size of its surrounding population and the impact of a radioactive release, among other subjects. Both bills reflect a sentiment held by their constituents — that regulators should broaden the criteria used when considering a renewal for Oyster Creek and other reactors. Similar calls by New Yorkers critical of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, about 25 miles north of Manhattan, prompted Rep. Nita M. Lowey, D-N.Y., in June to introduce a bill that would require the commission to make an evaluation of a plant's evacuation plan and its vulnerability to a terrorist attack part of the renewal review. As it stands now, the commission requires plant operators to prove that they can limit environmental impacts and manage age-related degradation over the renewal term. Regulators have said that the review areas proposed in legislation are already regularly monitored and should remain outside the renewal process. Nicholas Clunn: (609) 978-4597 or nclunn@app.com -------- MILITARY -------- us Former Homeless Veteran Describes How Horrors of War Continues to Plague Soldiers at Home Monday, August 22nd, 2005 Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/22/1433251 We hear a speech by former homeless veteran Ed Boyd. He says, "When the parade ends, and the military person takes off that uniform, and the horrors of war are still deep within them, and they can't get help because the Veterans Administration has got a $2 billion shortfall, they enter into a world of real terror, drug abuse, alcoholism, violence." [includes rush transcript] On Saturday evening, hundreds of supporters gathered under a tent at the Camp Casey Two. Before a performance by Texas musician Steve Earl, activists, veterans and military families took to the stage to address the crowd. * Ed Boyd, former homeless veteran. RUSH TRANSCRIPT AMY GOODMAN: This is former homeless vet, Ed Boyd. ED BOYD: I’ll tell you what I do in Baltimore, Maryland, and this is something that the news media refuse to tell, but I help counsel and I help deal with homeless veterans. Yes. When the parade ends, and the military person takes off that uniform, and the horrors of war is still deep within them, and they can't get help because the Veterans Administration has got -- has a $2 billion shortfall, and they enter into a world of real terror, drug abuse, alcoholism, violence in their -- against their families. The same person that their parents sent off is not the same person that returns home, and no one talks about that. No one talks about the dreams that we have. No one talks about the anger. No one talks about what can I do. I hear the vets every day. They're coming back. They're coming home. How in the world can you tell a 22-year-old man or a 22-year-old young lady that they're no good anymore because of what they have experienced, and they can't tell anybody? I look in the parents' eyes as they bring their kids. They say, “This is not little Johnny anymore.” That is the part they do not even talk about. And why do I get involved with it, because at one time I was one of them. When I came back home, the horror that I saw and experienced, no one -- no one could understand. My mom could not understand where her son was. Physically I was all right. Mentally and spiritually, I was dead. There are a lot of folks that are coming back home, and a lot of folks that are feeling the same way. And all our government has to do is say, ‘Suck it up, drink a beer and keep moving.’ I say no. We have to love our troops, and we love our kids. And we love our kids so much that we would do anything and everything in our power to keep them away from putting on them uniforms. AMY GOODMAN: Former homeless vet, Ed Boyd. He now counsels homeless vets in Baltimore. -------- ACTIVISTS Anti-War Protests Grow In Crawford Texas, Utah Monday, August 22nd, 2005 Headlines Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/02/1438211&mode=thread&tid=25 In Crawford Texas, anti-war protesters have begun their third week of vigils outside President Bush's 1,600-acre estate. The protest began on Aug. 6 by Cindy Sheehan - whose 24-year-old son Casey died in Iraq last year. But the protest has rapidly expanded. Military families, veterans and anti-war protesters continue to travel across the country to Crawford to take part in the demonstrations. On Friday a second protest camp was opened next door to President Bush's property. Over the weekend musicians Joan Baez and Steve Earle performed before hundreds of people. The protesters are vowing to stay in Crawford for the rest of the month until President Bush ends his five-week summer vacation. Protests Planned for Bush Visit to Utah Meanwhile in Salt Lake City Utah, protesters are planning to greet President Bush during his visit to the city today. The president is speaking at the annual national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Large protests are expected. Last week the city's Democratic mayor Rocky Anderson sent out an email urging supporters to join him in staging "the biggest demonstration this state has ever seen." Utah TV Commercial Refuses to Air Cindy Sheehan Ad Meanwhile ABC's affiliate in Salt Lake City, KTVX, is refusing to run an ad featuring Cindy Sheehan. The station claimed the ad was an "inappropriate commercial advertisement" that could QUOTE "be offensive to our community in Utah."