NucNews - September 15, 2005 -------- NUCLEAR -------- accidents and safety NRC: Casks would survive big blaze September 15, 2005 By Suzanne Struglinski Las Vegas SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/text/2005/sep/15/519360447.html WASHINGTON -- Transportation casks carrying used nuclear fuel would survive a fire similar to one in a Baltimore train tunnel four years ago, according to additional analysis by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that is to be published in the Federal Register. The 2001 train fire prompted critics of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump to point to the potential dangers associated with moving spent nuclear fuel by train across the country to Yucca Mountain. The train cars in the Baltimore tunnel carried hazardous materials, but no nuclear waste. Nevada officials and other Yucca critics believe a similar fire could cause casks to break and lead to a release of high-level radioactivity. They call for full-scale testing a casks used to move the waste to Yucca, if it were to open, and tougher regulations for casks to be approved suitable for shipping. In an analysis completed earlier this month, the NRC found that a fire similar to the Baltimore Tunnel fire would not cause a release of spent nuclear fuel particles nor fission products from a three types of shipping casks it studied. The NRC found that one type of cask would release a small amount of residue found on a fuel assembly, but nothing significant. The NRC report used data from the National Transportation Safety Board and assistance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analysis and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The 78-page draft will be available for public comment and a final version will be released after the comments are evaluated, the NRC says. The commission released a report in January 2003 that analyzed only one cask in certain scenarios and also found no radiation would be released. Commission regulations require a cask to be designed to withstand a fully engulfing fire lasting no less than 30 minutes, with an average flame temperature of no less than 1,475 degrees, according to the report. But in another 2001 study also completed for Nevada by Matthew Lamb and Marvin Resnikoff of Radioactive Waste Management Associates showed an analysis of a 1,600-degree fire burning for five days would result in a radiological release. Joe Strolin, of planning division administrator for the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, said the bottom line is that full-scale tests need to be done on the casks that will be used at Yucca to know for sure what they can withstand. "This should not be just public relations tests either," Strolin said. All other tests, for the state and for NRC, have been done with computer models. Resnikoff continues to work on updating the calculations used in the report, and UNR Mechanical Engineering Department Professor Miles Greiner is studying other "high intensity" accidents and their effects on casks, Strolin said. The nuclear industry says that more than 3,000 spent fuel shipments have taken place in the last 40 years with no radioactive releases, deaths or injuries. ---- Workers to sample nuclear hot spot Radioactive site set for excavation after testing By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com September 15, 2005 Knoxville News Sentinel http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_4081489,00.html OAK RIDGE - Workers will take samples from a troublesome hot spot next month in hopes of excavating the radioactive site - smack dab in the middle of Oak Ridge National Laboratory - next summer. Bechtel Jacobs Co. plans to remove an empty 4,000-gallon waste tank and 200 cubic yards of highly contaminated soil from an area associated with the lab's early nuclear operations. Bechtel Jacobs is the U.S. Department of Energy's environmental manager in Oak Ridge. Officials said they hope the cleanup will eliminate an environmental hazard that's been under study for more than a decade. The project is sometimes referred to as Corehole 8. That's a reference to a test well drilled years ago that identified an underground plume of radioactive materials in the groundwater not far from the lab's cafeteria. An attempt to remove the old tank in 2001 was called off after workers encountered unexpectedly high radiation fields during the digging. John Owsley, the state's environmental oversight chief in Oak Ridge, said the area contains a number of radioactive elements, including plutonium, americium, curium, uranium, cesium and strontium. The fact that nuclear waste is in contact with the groundwater in the middle of the ORNL complex is unacceptable, he said. "The state's position is that the material should be in a geologic repository," Owsley said. Some of the excavated materials will be transported to New Mexico for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The underground tank at ORNL was used decades ago to hold nuclear fuel leftover from reactor tests. The fuel mix was drained in the 1980s and put into cans for storage in the adjacent Building 3019-A. According to a report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, "The contaminated soil resulted from leakage from a damaged joint in feed piping to the tank." During the aborted cleanup effort four years ago, radiation was measured at levels as high as 20 rads per hour, board staffers reported. They said safety controls are being developed for the upcoming sampling program to limit the radioactivity of materials brought to the surface at any one time. Owsley said DOE, as part of the Federal Facilities Agreement in Oak Ridge, is required to submit plans in January 2006 that will outline the cleanup activities and disposal of nuclear wastes. "We expect them to begin excavation in May," the state official said. "We've been working on this for quite some time." Although the location and extent of the contamination is a concern, Owsley said the situation is stable at present. "The contaminated soil was covered in such a way that it didn't continue to leach into the environment," he said. Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs, said workers plan to sample soils around the tank in early October to better characterize what radioactive isotopes are present and their concentrations. Those samples will help determine where the excavated wastes will be disposed, Hill said. The so-called transuranic wastes, long-lived radioactive materials such as plutonium and americium, will be sent to WIPP, a deep-underground waste repository. The radioactive materials categorized as low-level waste will be transported to the nuclear landfill on DOE's Oak Ridge reservation. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. -------- britain Dungeness B stays open until 2018 The land around Dungeness B has National Nature Reserve status Thursday, 15 September 2005 BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4247950.stm The life of the Dungeness B nuclear power station in Kent is to be extended by 10 years up to 2018. The announcement was made on Thursday by the plant's operator British Energy. The company called it great news because of the economic benefit and jobs boost that the extension would provide for the Romney Marsh area. The move was criticised by the South East's Green MEP, Caroline Lucas, who said investment was needed in renewable energy sources and conservation. Construction began on Dungeness B in 1966 and it started supplying electricity to the National Grid in April 1983. 'Technical investigation' It has produced 75.87 terawatt hours (TWh) of generation since then, an amount which could provide all of Greater London and the South East with enough electricity for a year. The power station employs around 550 full-time staff and invests an estimated £30m a year into the surrounding area. Station director Alan Oulton said the decision to extend Dungeness B's lifetime had been reached after several months of work and investigation. Dungeness B uses two Advanced gas-cooled reactors "There's been a lot of investment into the plant and a lot of technical development. "This decision has been made on a commercial footing and with a technical investigation that's taken several months, looking at all the angles, and that has involved outside bodies to make sure that the arguments are very sound. "This is going to provide jobs for the Romney Marsh community and beyond and for the young people up to 2018." But Ms Lucas described it as "enormously disappointing news". "We know that nuclear power stations have inherent environmental risks, we know that they're producing nuclear waste that we still don't know what to do with. "Nuclear power is extremely uneconomic and I think it's a mistaken choice and a wasted opportunity. "We should be putting massive investment into renewables and conservation." Mr Oulton argued that renewable sources of energy were "not yet there to take its [nuclear power's] place". -------- canada Activists call nuclear plans 'political suicide' Canadian Press Thursday, September 15, 2005 http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=f84d486d-eb82-4a47-8352-5948ab2fb44c TORONTO -- Environmentalists warn Premier Dalton McGuinty that he'll be committing "political suicide" if he decides to build more nuclear plants to meet Ontario's power needs. McGuinty says he would agree to build more nuclear stations if the Ontario Power Authority makes that recommendation when it reports on the issue in December. Dave Martin of Greenpeace Canada says McGuinty will kick off the "environmental battle of the millennium" if he does decide to build more nuclear power plants. Elizabeth May of the Sierra Club of Canada believes McGuinty is ``floating a trial balloon'' that she says must be shot down. A coalition of environmental groups, under the banner Nuclear Waste Watch, say nuclear power is the most expensive and least reliable way to produce electricity. On top of that, the coalition says governments still have no real plan to deal with 40,000 tonnes of highly radioactive waste currently being stored at Canadian nuclear stations. Ninety per cent of that nuclear waste is in Ontario, and the environmental groups warn people will fight any attempts to build a nuclear waste storage dump in their communities. They say much of that radioactive waste is stored at the nuclear stations in surface pools, which the environmentalists warn is a potential catastrophe. -------- india Biggest plant in fastest start - Tarapur’s new reactor stepping stone to more power OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, Thursday, September 15, 2005 Telegraph India http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050915/asp/frontpage/story_5240179.asp New Delhi, Sept. 14: India’s latest and largest nuclear reactor at Tarapur that began feeding electricity to the nation on Monday is also the fastest-constructed and a stepping stone to an even more powerful reactor. The 540 MW reactor that took just five years to build is a typical homegrown nuclear power plant that uses domestic natural uranium as fuel. In the past, the construction of nuclear reactors typically took seven to eight years. While existing indigenous reactors deliver about 220 MW of power, the new reactor uses advanced technologies and improved designs to extract 540 MW of electricity from the nuclear reactions at its core. However, with some tweaking of its operating parameters, the same core could also be used to develop a 700 MW reactor, a senior NPC official said. Candidate sites to erect such a 700 MW reactor are under evaluation, he said. The 540 MW reactor — Unit 4 at Tarapur — first began burning nuclear fuel in March this year, and had been synchronised with the electricity grid in June. NPC declared it ready for commercial operations on Monday. Another 540 MW reactor at Tarapur — Unit 3 — is expected to be ready for power generation by early 2006. Tarapur is the site of India’s oldest, imported nuclear reactors — two 160 MW US-made boiling water reactors that rely on imported enriched uranium as fuel. In the 540 MW reactor, as in the existing indigenous reactors, pressurised heavy water remains liquid as it passes through the channels within the reactor’s core picking up heat. However, by allowing partial boiling of this heavy water, more heat may be extracted from the reactor’s core and used to drive steam turbines and produce 700 MW of power, the NPC official said. The NPC now operates 15 nuclear reactors leading to 3310 MW of power. Seven more reactors are under construction. These include two at Kaiga, Karnataka, two in Rajasthan, two Soviet-made reactors in Tamil Nadu and Unit 3 of Tarapur. All 14 NPC power plants have been achieving an availability factor of 84 per cent since the year 2000. The availability factor is a measure of the time for which a power plant is available to feed the grid. A factor of 84 per cent means that the plant was available 84 out of 100 days. Last year, the availability factor of plants was 88 per cent which, NPC officials said, compares with international figures. -------- iran Iran Ready to Share Nuclear Technology By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 15, 2005 4:27 PM ET http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050915/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear_5 UNITED NATIONS - Iran is willing to provide nuclear technology to other Muslim states, Iran's hard-line president said Thursday, notching up his rhetoric as his regime rejects international pressure to cut back its atomic program. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the comment after talking with Turkey's prime minister during a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, Iran's state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said. Ahmadinejad repeated promises that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons, the report said. Then he added: "Iran is ready to transfer nuclear know-how to the Islamic countries due to their need." Iran has said it is determined to continue processing uranium so its nuclear program can be self-sufficient in meeting its own reactor fuel needs. It insists the program is intended only to generate electricity and denies having any ambition to build atomic weapons. The United States and others have accused Iran of trying to develop atomic arms in violation of its commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Europeans have been uneasy since it was revealed Iran kept parts of its nuclear program secret for years from U.N. inspectors. Ahmadinejad's statement came just four days before the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is scheduled to discuss Iran's resumption of uranium conversion — which produces material that can be used either for reactor fuel or for nuclear bombs. His comments were likely raised during a Thursday afternoon meeting of the foreign ministers from the three European countries that have been negotiating with Iran on the nuclear issue — Britain, France and Germany — and Iran's new foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, and its top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani. The European ministers met separately before they were joined about 15 minutes later by the Iranians in an office provided by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette, European diplomats involved in the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Afterward, officials wouldn't say what was discussed. Germany's U.N. ambassador, Gunter Pleuger, said only that the session was a preparation for a meeting later in the day between Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Ahmadinejad. Pleuger said representatives of the three EU nations also would attend that meeting. The United States and European countries warned last week that Iran was running out of time to freeze uranium processing or face referral to the U.N. Security Council for consideration of punitive sanctions. However, diplomats and government officials in several European capitals said Thursday the U.S.-European push to take Iran before the council was meeting strong opposition and could be postponed. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hinted at that possibility Wednesday. The officials in Europe, who agreed to discuss the delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations only if granted anonymity, said more than a dozen members of the IAEA's 35-nation board opposed making a decision about referral at their meeting Monday in Vienna, Austria. Ahmadinejad has urged the United Nations not to bend to U.S. pressure to punish Iran. "The raison d'etre of the United Nations is to promote global peace and tranquility," he told the General Assembly on Wednesday. "Therefore, any license for pre-emptive measures which are essentially based on gauging intentions rather than objective facts ... is a blatant contradiction to the very foundation of the United Nations and the letter and the spirit of its charter." The European Union has taken the lead in trying to persuade Iran to halt uranium processing in exchange for economic help and a guaranteed supply of fuel for nuclear reactors. Iran rejected that proposal, arguing the nonproliferation treaty gives it the right to run a peaceful nuclear program. Ahmadinejad is expected to announced new Iranian proposals at the U.N. summit aimed at defusing the faceoff over its atomic operations. -------- iraq / inspections U.S., ISRAEL LOBBY U.N. AGAINST IRANIAN NUKES By Aluf Benn Haaretz September 15, 2005 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArtVty.jhtml?sw=iran&itemNo=625038 UNITED NATIONS -- The United States and Israel are waging a diplomatic battle on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly meetings, in an effort to prevent Iran from continuing its pursuit of nuclear power. The International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors will be meeting Monday to discuss an American demand to turn the Iran issue over to the Security Council, which has the authority to impose financial sanctions on Tehran due to its covert efforts to develop nuclear power. The upcoming IAEA meeting will be critical since the composition of countries represented on the board of governors will change shortly after the meeting and it will become more difficult to win a majority against Iran. The American position appears to have a slim majority, but the U.S. prefers to win broad support. The primary obstacle is opposition from Russia and China. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon tried to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting yesterday to bring the Iran case before the Security Council as soon as possible. Russian officials said before the Sharon-Putin meeting that Russia wants to delay a decision on its position until Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech to the General Assembly tomorrow. They expect Ahmadinejad to present new positions that will make it easier to resolve the dispute. Meir Dagan, who heads the Mossad intelligence agency and has been appointed by Sharon to lead diplomatic efforts to thwart Iran's nuclear plans, came to the U.S. with Sharon on Tuesday and held talks with his counterparts in Washington. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom met with officials from countries represented on the IAEA board of governors and described the severity of the problem a nuclear Iran would pose. -------- korea Photos released of activity at North Korean reactor sites WASHINGTON (AFP) Sep 15, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050915002859.pcvko6h6.html A US thinktank with ties to the diplomatic and intelligence communities released a satellite photograph on Wednesday which it said showed North Korea had resumed operating a five-megawatt nuclear reactor. The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) displayed on its web site a satellite picture of the reactor at Yongbyon, North Korea's main nuclear complex north of the capital Pyongyang. The ISIS said the photo shows "a steam plume from the cooling tower" of the reactor. "This plume indicates that the reactor is operating," the ISIS said in a statement. The institute also released a new satellite photograph of a 50-megawatt reactor construction site at Yongbyon which it said showed "new activity, though not the resumption of large-scale construction." It pointed to a new road surface and what it described as a "new object, possibly a mobile crane." The photos can be viewed online at www.isis-online.org. Their release came as the two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the United States held another round of talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear program. The talks are aimed at persuading the Stalinist North, which expelled international monitors and now says it has nuclear weapons, to give up the bomb in exchange for security guarantees as well as energy and economic aid. Negotiations have been bogged down over North Korea's demand for peaceful nuclear energy, a demand resisted by Washington which has said it cannot be trusted. A Japanese daily, Asahi Shimbun, reported last month that North Korea had reactivated the five-megawatt nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in July, just ahead of a previous round of the six-party talks. In April, North Korea said it had shut down the reactor, 90 kilometersmiles) north of Pyongyang, while it was preparing to reprocess more spent fuel, a move that could result in the production of enough plutonium to double its nuclear arsenal. ---- Votes on Nuclear Waste Dumpsite Due on Nov. 2 By Seo Jee-yeon jyseo@koreatimes.co.kr 09-15-2005 15:27 Staff Reporter Korea Times http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200509/kt2005091515244610220.htm A residential vote on housing low- and medium-level nuclear waste repositories is scheduled for Nov. 2 in four candidate cities, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) Thursday. Citizens of four communities _ Kunsan City of North Cholla Province and Yongdok County, Kyongju City and Pohang City of North Kyongsang Province _ will initiate the polls on Oct. 4. Representatives of the four communities issued a joint statement with the MOCIE accepting the timeline for the vote, the most critical procedure in deciding the final winner of a long-awaited nuclear waste dumpsite. The ministry repeatedly said it will select the winner based on the voting results. To be named a final candidate, one-third of all community residents have to join the election. The community with the highest approval rate will be named the final winner. Election campaign activities are allowed to only those who have the right to vote. If none of the candidate communities gain a majority approval, the ministry has to start over in selecting an area for the nuclear waste repository. The worst-case scenario means the government will fail to meet the construction deadline of 2008. Korea, the world's sixth largest nuclear power plant operator, has been searching for a nuclear waste dumpsite since 1986. With the current capacity for nuclear waste storage to be filled by 2008, it is urgent that a site be selected soon. In 2003, the MOCIE designated Wido in Puan County as a nuclear depository site, but it dropped the designation due to strong opposition from residents. Meanwhile, the ministry said that four candidate sites passed geological evaluations to house the nuclear waste dumpsite. ---- N. Korea's Refusal Scuttles Nuclear Talks By BO-MI LIM, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 15, 2:53 PM ET http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050915/ap_on_re_as/koreas_nuclear_25 BEIJING - Talks on North Korea's nuclear program were deadlocked Thursday as the communist nation stuck to its refusal to halt atomic bomb development until it receives a nuclear reactor to generate power. The main U.S. envoy said the North was isolating itself from the other five countries at the talks, which aren't inclined to fund a reactor or give nuclear technology to a country that withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and kicked out international inspectors. "We're in a bit of a standoff at this point," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said after 2 1/2 days of meetings. The head of Japan's delegation, Kenichiro Sasae, called the situation "extremely difficult" and said the negotiations were at a "deadlock." "There is no prospect for the reaching of an agreement," he said. Quoting unidentified sources at the talks, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that North Korea had told the other nations at the negotiations that it would boost its production of nuclear material if its demand for a light-water reactor is not met. It was offered two light-water reactors as a reward under a 1994 agreement with the United States to give up weapons development brokered by the Clinton administration. Construction on those reactors was halted in 2002 with the outbreak of the latest nuclear standoff, when U.S. officials said the North admitted to secretly pursuing a nuclear weapons program. The Bush administration has been loudly critical of the earlier deal. Still, the North's delegation claimed Thursday in its first public comments at the talks that getting a reactor would help reassure it that Washington has the "political will to get rid of its hostile policy toward us and peacefully coexist." "Providing a light-water reactor is a matter of principle for building trust," North Korean spokesman Hyun Hak Bong said. "The United States says it cannot give us a light-water reactor no matter what. It is telling us to give up the nuclear (program) first without doing its part." Hyun added that the North still hoped to "solve the nuclear issue peacefully through dialogue." Hill also repeated pledges to try and resolve the issue diplomatically, but questioned the North's will to do the same. "One gets the impression that this is not so much an economic development issue or an energy issue but rather a political issue and an issue relating to the idea that they want to have a sort of trophy project," the U.S. diplomat said. The Americans will stay at the talks as long as progress is being made, but Hill said he didn't get the impression the North would change its mind on the reactor demand. North Korea "has a rather sad and long history of making decision on things," he said, adding that the country "not for the first time has chosen to isolate itself." Hill said he didn't have another one-on-one meeting scheduled with the North Koreans, after seeing them already twice during the talks, which also include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. On Wednesday, a Washington-based think tank released a satellite photo showing that North Korea's reactor at Yongbyon has apparently been restarted. The photo, taken Sunday and released by the Institute for Science and International Security, apparently shows a steam plume rising from the plant's cooling tower. The reactor was shut down earlier this year and the North said its fuel rods were removed, a move that would allow it to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium. North Korea has been offered economic aid, security guarantees from Washington and free electricity from South Korea in exchange for dismantling its nuclear weapons program under a draft agreement proposed at the last round of talks that ended five weeks ago. The North first raised the reactor demand at the end of those 13 days of meetings, but the sides decided to take a recess with Hill saying at the time the North Koreans would discuss the issue further with officials in their capital. However, the North appears to have only hardened its position — despite postponing its return two weeks beyond the agreed resumption of talks in professed anger over annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises and Washington's appointment of a human rights envoy on North Korea. Even host China, normally upbeat, sounded a tone of pessimism Thursday. "There are still great differences on certain issues," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. North Korea is believed to have reprocessed enough plutonium for at least a half-dozen bombs, and claimed in February that it had nuclear weapons. However, it hasn't performed any known nuclear tests that would confirm its arsenal, which Pyongyang says it needs to deter a U.S. invasion. Washington denies it intends to attack. -------- u.n. World Leaders Shake Heads as Reforms to Check Nuclear Arms Spread Dumped Thursday, September 15, 2005 by Agence France Presse http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0915-06.htm Kofi Annan has called it a disgrace and Australian Prime Minister John Howard termed it a major disappointment. After months of wrangling, world leaders were shaking their heads over the dumping of proposed UN reforms to check nuclear weapons proliferation and disarmament. Despite increasing concerns over illicit nuclear weapon networks and terrorists seeking weapons of mass destruction, negotiators working for months on a reform package to beef up the United Nations failed to agree on how to revamp global non-proliferation rules. They adopted a watered-down package of reforms to be endorsed by the leaders of the world attending the 60th anniversary meeting of the global body. Proposed new rules on nuclear weapons proliferation and disarmament were completely disregarded. "It's a real disgrace," said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, lamenting the omission, which reportedly came after Washington gave only lukewarm support for the reforms. He blamed "posturing" for the failure to find a common approach to the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Annan called nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament "our biggest challenge, and our biggest failing," citing a similar failed effort at a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference earlier this year. Diplomats said the United States had vehemently objected to focusing on disarmament by major powers rather than on the spread of nuclear weapons among rogue states and terrorists. Norway crafted the proposals and submitted them to the United Nations in July, with Annan backing the initiative as a basis "for a wide-ranging consensus." The United States initially stayed mum on the proposed reforms. But only days before the summit, the world's only superpower reluctantly came into the fold, joining about about half the 191 UN member nations led by Britain, Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Chile and Romania. John Bolton, an ex-arms control chief at the US State Department and currently the new US ambassador to the UN, reportedly was against the proposal initially and, some claim, had campaigned against it. Australian Prime Minister John Howard did not hide his disgust. "I'm very, very disappointed" by the omission, he said. "We think issues concerning Iran and North Korea and proliferation issues are the most important item on the disarmament agenda, and if serious progress is to be made then we have to make progress in these areas," he said Indonesian government spokesman Marty Natalegawa agreed. He said it was a "matter of concern" that various parties had expressed concern over proliferation and disarmament and yet did not back the much needed reform. "It is a glaring omission. The absence is disquieting. We find that one of the most deserving aspects of the whole document," he said. Nuclear-armed Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said both the proliferation and the perpetual possession of nuclear weapons posed an "unacceptable global danger." He called for a "new consensus" to achieve disarmament and non-proliferation. The lukewarm US support for disarmament efforts stems from concerns relating to issues such as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which Washington has refused to ratify, one Western diplomat said. It was the collapse of the NPT review conference, which the United States was again blamed for, that prompted the reforms crafted by Norway together with Britain, Australia, Indonesia, Chile and Romania. ---- Bush, Annan Tout the Role of the U.N. The president surprises summit delegates by reversing U.S. positions that nearly sank talks. By Maggie Farley and Warren Vieth Los Angeles Times Staff Writers September 15, 2005 http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news2/latimes836.html UNITED NATIONS — In a rare show of unity after a bruising week for the U.N., President Bush joined U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday in saying that no country can stand alone against the 21st century challenges of terrorism, disease and natural disasters. Both leaders also chided the world body's member nations for blocking key reforms aimed at making the United Nations more able to tackle those challenges, even though many diplomats felt the U.S. was one of the countries responsible. But Bush also surprised delegates by reversing U.S. stances on trade and development that had nearly scuttled weeks of negotiation on the reforms. "To spread a vision of hope, the United States is determined to help nations that are struggling with poverty," Bush said. "We are committed to the Millennium Development Goals." Those goals include cutting poverty and hunger in half, ensuring universal education and stemming the spread of AIDS by 2015. "In this young century, the far corners of the world are linked more closely than ever before, and no nation can remain isolated and indifferent to the struggles of others," Bush said in a keynote speech at the opening of the three-day World Summit. In an address that was at once global and aimed at home, Bush noted that the United States was in the unusual position of receiving aid from abroad after Hurricane Katrina, and thanked the 115 nations that had offered money and help. "The world is more compassionate and hopeful when we act together," Bush said. "This truth was the inspiration for the United Nations." Although Washington had endorsed the eight Millennium Development Goals at the 2000 summit and again in the so-called Monterrey Consensus statement, U.S. negotiators feared that targets related to the goals would require the U.S. to increase foreign aid. The goals were restored at the last minute in a U.S.-crafted compromise that saved the talks from collapse. Nonetheless, delegates and U.N. officials had not expected Bush to publicly endorse the goals in front of more than 150 world leaders. "That was a big deal," said Mark Malloch Brown, Annan's chief of staff and the former head of the U.N. Development Program. "They are not standing in the way of it, and that is real progress." Some diplomats saw Bush's emphasis on development as an attempt to defuse the sentiment here that the United States was one of the spoilers of the summit document, which now falls far short of Annan's original ambitions. Or, quipped one diplomat, perhaps Hurricane Katrina made him suddenly aware of the dire effects of poverty. Reversing another U.S. negotiating stance, Bush also called for the removal of trade barriers and farm subsidies that prevent poor nations from selling their goods. "The United States is ready to eliminate all tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to free flow of goods and services as other nations do the same," he said. Bush and Annan expressed their disappointment that a summit accord passed grudgingly by the General Assembly on Tuesday did not go further. The stripped-down document omits key proposals on nuclear disarmament and trade and defers details on human rights, terrorism and U.N. reform. World leaders are expected to adopt it Friday, the last day of the summit. Bush aimed his strongest criticism at the failure to establish criteria for membership in a new human rights council to replace the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which has included among its members alleged violators such as Libya and Sudan. "When this great institution's member states choose notorious abusers of human rights to sit on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, they discredit a noble effort and undermine the credibility of the whole organization," Bush said. "If member nations want the United Nations to be respected and effective, they should begin by making sure it is worthy of respect." Annan expressed greater concern about the failure to include in the final document any reference to nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, calling it "our biggest tragedy and our biggest failure." The Bush administration opposed language that called for nuclear powers to reduce their weapons stockpiles. In what appeared to be a jab at the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Annan cautioned, "Even the strongest among us cannot succeed alone…. We cannot succeed without the leadership of the strong and the engagement of all." Compared with previous Bush speeches in which he demanded that the U.N. confront Iraq or stand aside, Wednesday's address seemed almost conciliatory. "He found the themes that resonate with the international community," said Jean-Marie Guehenno, the head of peacekeeping at the U.N. "The emphasis on poverty and development was certainly noticed and welcomed." But what Bush didn't mention — Afghanistan, Sudan and the Middle East — also resonated. The president did not focus on the U.S. use of power, or the U.N. role in rebuilding new governments and societies that have been disrupted by conflict. After his address, Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In brief remarks to reporters, he praised Sharon's courage in removing Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip. The president then participated in a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, which adopted a resolution banning the incitement of terrorism and calling for action to share intelligence, restrict cross-border movement and freeze financing for terrorist organizations. Human rights groups fear the wide-ranging resolution could be used to censor inflammatory media and deport political opponents cast as extremists. Separately, Bush signed a new international accord to deter nuclear terrorism and participated in the launch of the U.N. Democracy Fund, designed to help developing nations build democratic institutions. -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- louisiana N-R-C authorizes restart of Waterford nuclear plant September 15, 2005 Associated Press http://www.katc.com/global/story.asp?s=3831579&ClientType=Printable# TAFT, La. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cleared the way to authorized the restart the Waterford nuclear power generating plant, which shut down as a precautionary measure on August 28th when a warning for Hurricane Katrina was issued for Saint Charles Parish. Officials say the plant was essentially undamaged by the storm, although it did lose offsite power and some communications systems were affected. The N-R-C performed a readiness assessment to verify that the plant, its staff and onsite emergency preparedness are ready. Once operational, Waterford will supply electricity to support recovery of the regional infrastructure. -------- maine Maine Yankee Hires New President, CEO By Greg Foster, September 15, 2005 Lincoln County News http://www.mainelincolncountynews.com/index.cfm?ID=14106 Maine Yankee has hired Board Chairman Gerald Poulin as the new president and CEO of the company for its storage facility phase of the plant’s operation, company spokesman Eric Howes announced this week. Poulin has served as member of the Maine Yankee board since 1989 and its chairman for the past six years, which he will be continuing to do. Poulin will be overseeing the 64-concrete dry cask storage facility for spent fuel and high-level nuclear waste at Bailey Point, which is all that will be left on the site along with the security and operations building for the installation. Presently John Niles is the manager of the facility. Poulin was employed with the Central Maine Power Co. for 30 years having retired as the senior vice president of engineering and power generation. The previous president and CEO, Ted Feigenbaum, has accepted a position as president and general manager of the Bechtel SAIC in Nevada, which is associated with the proposed national high level nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain. Currently Maine Yankee has been continuing it decommissioning operations, including the removal of tons of soil stockpiled on site as part of its remediation on the site. Howes estimated that there are 85 rail cars left to ship to a low level nuclear waste dump out of state. “We have added additional cars to the fleet and are hopeful of being done in early to mid-October,” Howes said. “There is not a lot of work to be done.” A new gatehouse is now complete and will be in use as soon as the new gate is operational, according to Howes. The gatehouse is located on the access road closer to the storage area. The measure is a part of the security provision for the storage facility, which is mostly surrounded by an earthen berm as well as fencing. “We provide security there in accordance with the (federal) Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations,” Howes said. Baily Point use: Recently Maine Yankee received federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission acceptance of its final status survey packages for its radiological cleanup of the site, Howes said. The next step in the process is a formal amendment to its NRC operating license which the company is waiting for now. The amendment will reduce the footprint of the plant from the original 180 acres at Bailey Point to the 12-acre parcel comprising the spent fuel storage facility. As far as the future use of the acreage that will be freed up, that is uncertain, although there has been talk in the past about the sale of the property for possible economic development. “The future of the peninsula is up in the air as long as the spent fuel is stored there,” he said. “Our goal now is to get the spent fuel removed from there.” Public CAP meeting The next meeting of company’s reorganized Community Advisory Panel is scheduled Thurs., Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Chewonki Foundation. -------- new jersey New Jersey Mayor Challenges NRC's License Renewal Process Occupational Health and Safety Online, September 15, 2005 http://www.ohsonline.com/Stevens/OHSPub.nsf/frame?open&redirect=http://www.ohsonline.com/stevens/ohspub.nsf/newnews/1b4dd89b7148a8a28625707d004c23df?opendocument The Nuclear Regulatory Commission asked yesterday for public comments on a rulemaking proposal from Joseph Scarpelli, the mayor of Brick Township, N.J., who has a keen interest in -- and apprehension about -- the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station that sits 18 miles to the south of his city, which has doubled its population since 1970. Submitted with supporting letters from the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club and the New Jersey Environmental Federation, Scarpelli said any evacuation of the area around Oyster Creek would be difficult and life-threatening. He asked NRC to amend its regulations so a plant's renewed license can be issued only if the operator demonstrates it meets all requirements that apply when a plant is proposed for initial construction. Docketed by the NRC on July 25, 2005, and assigned Docket No. PRM-54-03, the petition is open for comments until Nov. 28. Comments can be e-mailed to SECY@nrc.gov or submitted via http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. The mayor cited incidents since Oyster Creek began operating that he said raise concern among the public about nuclear power plants in densely populated areas. The incidents were Three Mile Island in March 1979, Chernobyl in August 1986, the controversy about Yucca Mountain, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Scarpelli asked that NRC, when considering a renewal application, examine criteria such as demographics, siting, emergency evacuation, and site security, and he said it is necessary to answer specific questions about Oyster Creek as it approaches the end of its 40-year operating license, including whether a new plant, designed and built to current standards, could be licensed on the same site today. -------- us nuc waste Energy Department Clears Way for Moving Radioactive Waste in Utah September 15, 2005 — By Jennifer Talhelm, Associated Press http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=8793 WASHINGTON — Almost 12 million tons of radioactive waste will be moved from the banks of the Colorado River, the source of drinking water for more than 25 million people across the West, the government said Wednesday. Energy Department officials on Wednesday cleared the way for a plan that was announced this year. The 94-foot high pile of uranium mining waste is near Moab, Utah, and 750 feet from the river. The department now will work on the specifics of moving the waste to a site at Crescent Junction, more than 30 miles northwest. Concern that contaminants would leach into the Colorado River was heightened by January flooding in southern Utah. Moab's rich uranium deposits were mined for nuclear bombs starting in the 1950s. The Uranium Reduction Co. sold its mill in 1962 to Atlas Corp., which ran it sporadically until declaring bankruptcy in 1998. The Energy Department took over the site in 2001. Left behind was a 130-acre uranium mill tailings pile, which is mostly in the open air on bare ground, surrounded by a chain-link fence. "This decision demonstrates our commitment to fulfilling our Cold War cleanup obligations as well as preserving the long-term environmental health of the river and the many communities it serves," Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in a statement. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican who lobbied the Bush administration to move the waste, said the development "was great news for Utah and the millions of people who rely on the Colorado River for their water supply." The cleanup cost is expected to be more than $400 million. The department estimates it will begin moving the tailings in 2008 and finish by 2014, department spokesman Mike Waldron said. The tailings will be moved, predominantly by rail, to the proposed site in Crescent Junction. They will be covered and buried in a hole lined with a protective layer to prevent leakage into the groundwater. ---- It's now official: Radioactive refuse will be moved 09/15/2005 12:48:13 AM By Robert Gehrke and Lisa Church The Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3030584 The U.S. Energy Department formally approved plans Wednesday to move 11.9 million tons of tailings and radioactive debris from the banks of the Colorado River, signaling the start of the nearly half-billion-dollar cleanup. "This is great news for Utah and the millions of people who rely on the Colorado River for their water supply," Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in April that the department would ship the waste from the former Atlas mill site just outside Arches National Park by rail to Crescent Junction, about 30 miles north of Moab. "This decision demonstrates our commitment to fulfilling our Cold War cleanup obligations as well as preserving the long-term environmental health of the river and the many communities it serves," said Jim Rispoli, assistant energy secretary, whose signature made formal the previously announced decision. Contaminants from the tailings pile have seeped into the river, threatening endangered fish and alarming downstream water users. An estimated 25 million residents in Nevada, Arizona and California rely on the Colorado for water. The Atlas pile spans about 130 acres on the 439-acre site. The thick sludge in the pile contains remnants of Cold War uranium production. Cleanup of the pile stalled when Atlas Minerals Corp., which bought the mill in 1962, filed for bankruptcy in 1998, leaving the pile with an interim cap and an inadequate cleanup fund. -------- MILITARY -------- mideast Syria denounces Iraq attacks, seeks cooperation with US Thu Sep 15, 6:12 PM ET (AFP) http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050915/wl_mideast_afp/ussyriairaq WASHINGTON - Syria strongly condemned bomb attacks which have killed scores of people in Baghdad this week and said it was ready to do "whatever it takes" to cooperate with US and Iraqi authorities in bringing security and stability to its neighbor. In a statement released two days after US President George W. Bush publicly warned Damascus to stop foreign fighters entering Iraq, the Syrian embassy here said the country was making "great efforts" to seal the border between Syria and Iraq. "Syria strongly and categorically denounces the terrorist explosions, which have killed and injured many innocent civilians in Iraq during the past couple of days," the statement said. "In this hard time, Syria would like to reiterate its position calling for the unity of the Iraqi people as a path to insure stability and security in Iraq. "To help the Iraqi people in achieving security and prosperity and because the Iraqi quagmire has dangerous implications on the entire Middle East, Syria has exerted and continues to exert great efforts to seal the Syrian-Iraqi border," the statement said. "Moreover, Syria reiterates our willingness to do whatever it takes to cooperate with the US and Iraqi authorities for the sake of achieving these objectives," it added. Bush warned Syria on Tuesday that it faces growing isolation because of its failure to stop foreign fighters from entering Iraq and because of its actions in Lebanon. "These people are coming from Syria into Iraq and killing a lot of innocent people," Bush told reporters following a meeting at the White House with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. "They're trying to kill our folks as well. "And the Syrian leader (President Bashar al-Assad) must understood, we take his lack of action seriously," Bush said. "The (Syrian) government is going to become more and more isolated as a result of two things: one, not being cooperative with the Iraqi government in terms of securing Iraq and, two, not being fully transparent about what they did in Lebanon," the president said. Bush did not specify what Syrian actions in Lebanon he was referring to but Damascus and its allies in the then-Lebanese government have been widely blamed for the February 14 bomb blast on the Beirut seafront that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri. -------- prisoners of war CACI Plans to Drop Interrogation Work Firm Was Entangled in Abu Ghraib By Ellen McCarthy Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, September 15, 2005; D04 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/14/AR2005091402531_pf.html CACI International Inc., the Arlington-based defense contractor that attracted controversy when an employee was accused of participating in the Abu Ghraib prison abuses, is getting out of the interrogation business. The company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week that once its existing interrogation contract with the Army expires on Sept. 30, it will no longer provide such services. The filing did not elaborate on the decision, and CACI executives did not return calls yesterday. An internal Army report last year said Steven A. Stefanowicz, an interrogator employed by the company, was among four individuals suspected to be "either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses" at Abu Ghraib. Subsequent investigations generally concluded that company employees had played a more limited role than originally reported. Nevertheless, six employees of CACI and Titan Corp., which provided translators to the military, were referred to the Justice Department for prosecution. No charges have been filed. Stefanowicz's lawyer has said his client did nothing wrong, and CACI said its internal investigation found no evidence that its employees were involved in the abuse of prisoners. Though CACI's stock price fell 18 percent when the allegations surfaced, the firm's business continued to flourish. For the year ended June 30, the company earned $85.3 million on $1.62 billion in revenue, compared with a $63.7 million profit on $1.15 billion in revenue recorded during the previous fiscal year. CACI was hired in August 2003 to provide intelligence gathering and interrogation support to the Army. The $19.9 million task order came under a larger existing contract held by the company, and so was not announced publicly. The original contract, with a $500 million limit, was designed to allow the Army to buy information technology products and services from the company. A similar contract was used to place Lockheed Martin Corp. interrogators in Guantanamo Bay. Analysts said the interrogation work was not worth the headaches it brought to the company. "I just think at the end of the day it was such a small piece of their overall revenue," said Joseph A. Vafi, an analyst with Jefferies & Co. "It's not core to the business and there's too much risk associated with it." Shares of CACI gained 94 cents yesterday to close at $60.91 on the New York Stock Exchange. -------- russia / chechnya Russian warplane crashes in Lithuania VILNIUS (AFP) Sep 15, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050915174319.18ggvivp.html A Russian warplane crashed Thursday in southern Lithuania after encoraching into that country's airspace, officials said as Defence Minister Gediminas Kirkilas promised a full investigation. He said Lithuania would keep the pilot, who ejected to safety before the crash, for "as long as needed" to conduct a full probe. Russia intends to lodge a formal request with Lithuania for the pilot to be allowed to return home and the wreckage of the aircraft and its flight data recorder be handed back to Moscow, Kirkilas said on Lithuanian television. But Lithuania "will keep the pilot as long as needed for the purposes of the investigation", he said, adding that information in the black box data recorder should be analysed by a joint Russian-Lithuanian commission. The plane, which officials in Russia said was a Su-27 fighter jet, went down near the city of Jurbarkas, some 55 kilometres (33 miles) from Lithuania's second largest city, Kaunas, and near the border with Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave wedged between Lithuania and Poland, the Lithuanian defence ministry said. A defence ministry official in Moscow was cited earlier by Russia's Interfax-AVN news agency as saying the plane was on its way to an air base in Kaliningrad when it "strayed off course apparently due to a failure of navigation equipment." Kirkilas said the fighter jet was tracked by Lithuanian air traffic control authorities after it entered the Baltic state's air space. "Our air traffic control specialists watched the plane when it was in the territory of Lithuania and said it did not look aggressive or appear to be targetting any strategic objects," Kirkilas said. "The data we have now indicates this was an unfortunate accident." The plane was supposed to have followed a route that would have taken it "above neutral waters in the Baltic Sea" but it deviated from its route "for unknown reasons", the defence ministry here said. "The Russian military plane did not have permission to enter Lithuania's airspace," it added. Jovita Bazeviciute, an official with the defence ministry, told AFP that radars did not see the Russian fighter when it entered Lithuanian air space as it flew very low. Air traffic controllers began tracking the fighter jet once it was inside Lithuanian airspace, she said. German Phantom F4 fighter jets, currently in charge of a NATO mission to patrol the air space over Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, were alerted to the airspace violation, but by the time they had mustered the Su-27 had crashed, Bazeviciute said. The plane came down in a field, causing a small fire but no injuries. The pilot was questioned by police before being taken for a medical check. -------- un Bush Thanks World Leaders and Takes Conciliatory Tone By DAVID E. SANGER and WARREN HOGE New York Times Thursday, September 15, 2005 http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050915/ZNYT03/509150479 UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 14 - President Bush, facing an array of world leaders who are deeply divided on how to define terrorism or act against nuclear proliferation and poverty, struck a conciliatory tone at the United Nations on Wednesday, describing himself as the grateful leader of a superpower that in recent days has received emergency aid from nations around the world. His speech, at the opening of a United Nations session that drew more than 150 presidents, prime ministers and monarchs, came hours after the General Assembly greatly watered down what had once been ambitious plans for institutional change and for commitments to fight terrorism and nuclear arms. But Mr. Bush only alluded to the leaders' differences, and his tone was far more muted than three years ago, when he urged the United Nations to confront Saddam Hussein. On Wednesday, from the same podium, he balanced his discussion of the need to chase down terrorists with his endorsement of a set of antipoverty objectives called the millennium development goals. Only weeks ago, the administration had proposed eliminating all reference to the specific goals from the United Nations' agenda this week, but the administration subsequently backed off. Rather than declare, as he had in the past, that countries had to choose to be "with us or against us" in battling terrorists, Mr. Bush cast himself as the leader of one of many nations fighting the same plague. "No nation can remain isolated and indifferent to the struggles of others," he said in a hall that remained, by tradition, largely silent. "When a country or a region is filled with despair and resentment and vulnerable to violent and aggressive ideologies, the threat passes easily across oceans and borders and could threaten the security of any peaceful country." Mr. Bush began his speech by thanking 115 countries and a dozen international organizations for offering aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina, putting him in the unaccustomed position of being the recipient of help from abroad - including from countries like Iraq. "I offer the thanks of my nation," he said. Secretary General Kofi Annan seemed to allude to American vulnerability in a speech earlier in the day, noting, "Whether our challenge is peacemaking, nation-building, democratization or responding to natural or man-made disasters, we have seen that even the strongest among us cannot succeed alone." That seemed to set the tone for Mr. Bush, who arrived politically injured. His approval levels among Americans are at record lows, with the aftermath from Hurricane Katrina raising questions about the administration's abilities to respond to a major disaster, and with Iraq facing violence on a scale few predicted three years ago. But even with close to 150 people killed in Iraq just hours before he spoke, Mr. Bush stuck to his message of optimism about democratic revolution in the Middle East. "It's an exciting opportunity for all of us in this chamber," he told the leaders, many of whom opposed his decision three years ago to go to war and have steered clear of Iraq since. Nonetheless, American officials traveling with Mr. Bush said that they wondered how successful the White House would be in allocating more reconstruction aid for Iraq now that the hurricane damage will soak up so many American resources. "It seems clear," said one senior official traveling with Mr. Bush, "that the days of American largess for Iraq are coming to a close." At his toughest on Wednesday, Mr. Bush seemed to scold the United Nations for failing to enact change on the scale discussed for more than a year. "The United Nations must be strong and efficient, free of corruption, and accountable to the people it serves," he said, adding that it "must stand for integrity, and live by the high standards it sets for others." He described the effort to improve the operations of the organization as in its infancy, adding: "The process of reform begins with members taking our responsibilities seriously. When this great institution's member states choose notorious abusers of human rights to sit on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, they discredit a noble effort, and undermine the credibility of the whole organization," apparently a reference to Sudan, Zimbabwe, Cuba and Libya. "If member countries want the United Nations to be respected - respected and effective - they should begin by making sure it is worthy of respect," Mr. Bush concluded. He pressed for a Security Council resolution committing countries to prosecute - and extradite - anyone seeking fissile materials or the technology for nuclear devices. On Tuesday, Mr. Annan said the exclusion of language in goals on countering nuclear proliferation was a "disgrace" that compounded a similar failure at a spring United Nations conference on the future of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But Mr. Bush did not repeat his previous calls to bar any new country from producing enriched uranium or plutonium - a plan the administration has done little to promote over the past year and a half. In his references to the goals for poverty reduction, he cited not only the millennium development goals but also another initiative that grew out of a summit meeting in Monterrey, Mexico. There, poor nations agreed to fight corruption and improve governance, and rich nations committed to "make concrete efforts" toward giving 0.7 percent of their national income in aid. Mr. Bush did not address the aid issue, but advocates said they hoped his endorsement of Monterrey would make it harder for the United States to continue to oppose such aid targets. Jeffrey D. Sachs, the economist who led the millennium project, said in an interview that Mr. Bush's support "was as explicit and plain as could be." As to Mr. Bush's mention of the millennium goals, he said, "As far as I know, the president has never uttered that phrase before." The Security Council also passed a resolution calling on countries to ban incitement to terrorism and prevent subversion of educational, cultural and religious institutions by terrorists and their supporters. The measure was offered by Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain in a move paralleling his government's response to bombings in London in July. The seats around the horseshoe panel were filled by the leaders attending the United Nations summit meeting, and among those raising hands in approval were Presidents Bush, Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Hu Jintao of China, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines. "We must unite not just in condemning the acts of terrorism, which we all do, but in fighting the poisonous propaganda that the root cause of this lies with us, not them," Mr. Blair said. Citing the bombings Wednesday in Baghdad, he called it "obscene" for terrorists to claim to be acting in response to Western aggression against Muslims. "Their victims are largely Muslim," he said. Rights groups in Britain have protested the government's crackdown since the bombings, and the New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized Wednesday's resolution for failing to define incitement. "The resolution's sponsors have made it easy for abusive governments to invoke the resolution to target peaceful political opponents, impose censorship and close mosques, churches and schools," said Kenneth Roth, the group's executive director. -------- POLICE / PRISONERS / COURTS / JUSTICE -------- terrorism Weldon: Atta Papers Destroyed on Orders By DONNA DE LA CRUZ, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 15, 7:43 PM ET http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050915/ap_on_go_co/sept11_hijackers WASHINGTON - A Pentagon employee was ordered to destroy documents that identified Mohamed Atta as a terrorist two years before the 2001 attacks, a congressman said Thursday. The employee is prepared to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was expected to name the person who ordered him to destroy the large volume of documents, said Rep. Curt Weldon (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa. Weldon declined to name the employee, citing confidentiality matters. Weldon described the documents as "2.5 terabytes" — as much as one-fourth of all the printed materials in the Library of Congress, he added. A Senate Judiciary Committee aide said the witnesses for Wednesday's hearing had not been finalized and could not confirm Weldon's comments. A message left Thursday with a Pentagon spokesman, Army Maj. Paul Swiergosz, was not immediately returned. Weldon has said that Atta, the mastermind of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and three other hijackers were identified in 1999 by a classified military intelligence unit known as "Able Danger," which determined they could be members of an al-Qaida cell. On Wednesday, former members of the Sept. 11 commission dismissed the "Able Danger" assertions. One commissioner, ex-Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., said, "Bluntly, it just didn't happen and that's the conclusion of all 10 of us." Weldon responded angrily to Gorton's assertions. "It's absolutely unbelievable that a commission would say this program just didn't exist," Weldon said Thursday. Pentagon officials said this month they had found three more people who recall an intelligence chart identifying Atta as a terrorist prior to the Sept. 11 attacks. Two military officers, Army Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and Navy Capt. Scott Phillpott, have come forward to support Weldon's claims. -------- POLITICS -------- us politics Katrina Erodes Support In U.S. for Iraq War Bush's Rating as Crisis Manager Declines in Poll as Pessimism About the Economy Grows By JOHN HARWOOD Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL September 15, 2005; Page A4 http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112673973569141130,00.html http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/0,,SB112673973569141130-i8vIifUvvF_617nK04sRoVPzR1M_20060915,00.html WASHINGTON -- Hurricane Katrina has accelerated the erosion in public support for the Iraq war as President Bush's core of supporters dwindles and economic pessimism turns Americans' attention inward. A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll1 shows that cutting spending on Iraq is Americans' top choice for financing the recovery from Katrina. Shaken by high gas prices and bracing for further jolts, Americans have turned negative about Mr. Bush across the board -- on handling the economy, foreign policy, and even the war on terrorism. 2 View complete results of the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll 3. (Adobe Acrobat 4 required.) The president's overall approval has fallen to a record-low for Mr. Bush of 40%, reflecting a shrunken core of base supporters. That promises to have repercussions for his domestic agenda on issues like Social Security, taxes and immigration, and leaves Mr. Bush with a steeper challenge on his most significant second-term priority: using American power and resources to transform Iraq and the broader Middle East. A plurality of Americans has favored reducing troop levels in Iraq for most of the year. Now, 55% favor bringing soldiers home, while just 36% back Mr. Bush's position that current levels should be maintained to help secure peace and stability. "His standing to prosecute that case has been made more difficult," says Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who helps conduct the Journal/NBC Poll. Adds Democratic counterpart Peter Hart: It's "going to be very hard to just move straight forward" on Iraq. To be sure, the survey contains some bright spots for Mr. Bush. Federal appeals court Judge John Roberts, his nominee to succeed the late William Rehnquist as chief justice of the Supreme Court, has drawn respectable support and little intense opposition. Some 38% say they support Judge Roberts for that post, while just 20% oppose him and 41% don't know enough to say. HARRIS POLL 5 Nearly half of U.S. adults say President Bush has done a poor job in handling the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, according to a recent Harris poll6. And almost half expect the hurricane will have a great impact on the U.S. economy. And while Senate Democrats press Judge Roberts in Judiciary Committee hearings to state his views on key issues, 57% of Americans say the nominee shouldn't be required to spell them out since those issues may come before the court. Democrats enjoy firmer support in public opinion for their demand for more documents about Judge Roberts's previous government service; 41% say the White House should make additional documents public, outpacing the 31% who say Democrats already have enough information. Yet the poll's findings about Americans' priorities show the work facing Mr. Bush, who is scheduled to deliver a nationally televised address tonight on the recovery from Katrina. Some 60% say rebuilding the Gulf Coast should be a higher national priority than establishing democracy in Iraq; 5% say Iraq, while 34% say the two are equally important. The White House says the administration can handle both at once, but by 51%-37% Americans say the Iraq war wasn't worth its human and financial costs. The proportion of Republicans disapproving of Mr. Bush's job performance has doubled to 15% from 7% in January, with pronounced defections among moderates within Mr. Bush's party. Katrina has contributed to that decline in support. By a 58%-38% margin, Americans say they are dissatisfied with the Bush administration's response to the catastrophe. Reflecting the absence of the traditional rally behind the commander in chief during national emergencies, just 48% approve of the president's handling of the matter; 80% approved of how he handled the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, while 64% backed the actions of his father, President George H.W. Bush, following Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The survey of 1,013 adults, conducted Sept. 9-12, has a margin for error of 3.1 percentage points. In particular, Katrina appears to have shaken public regard on two attributes that sustained Mr. Bush through earlier political challenges. The public now splits evenly, 41%-41%, on assessments of Mr. Bush's ability to handle a crisis; at the outset of his second term in January, he received positive marks for crisis-management ability by a 56%-28% margin. A bare 43%-40% plurality rates him positively for having "strong leadership qualities," down from 52%-30% in January. The crisis along the Gulf Coast may have also damaged the long-term effort by Mr. Bush's strategists to expand Republican support among members of minority groups. Fully 70% of African-Americans say the Bush administration would have reacted to Katrina with greater urgency had the affected areas been mostly white suburbs rather than mostly black inner-city neighborhoods. Nearly seven in 10 whites reject that assertion. Hispanics are divided evenly on the question. But the president's overall rating among Hispanics, who were split on his job performance in January, is now negative by a two-to-one margin. Mr. Bush's signature domestic priority, overhauling the Social Security system with private investment accounts, was already in political trouble before the hurricane. Assessments of the administration's handling of Social Security -- 28% say they are satisfied while 60% aren't -- are more negative than assessments of how it handled the response to Katrina. Beyond Social Security, the domestic political landscape has been buffeted in a way that complicates challenges facing the White House and Republicans in the 2006 midterm elections. Following the gas-price spikes immediately after the hurricane, six in 10 Americans now expect pump prices to continue rising. In fact, the public now ranks gas prices as the country's top economic issue. Just 6% assign top importance to federal taxes, the issue that Mr. Bush and Republicans planned to elevate next year through a yet-unspecified overhaul of the tax system. Of particular concern to lawmakers facing voters next year, Americans have turned pessimistic on the outlook for the economy. Some 49% expect the economy to get worse over the next 12 months, triple the 16% who expect it to improve. In January, those numbers were essentially reversed. At the same time, Katrina may have left the public feeling slightly more nervous about security at home. Fully 75% of Americans now say the U.S. isn't adequately prepared for a nuclear, biological or chemical attack, up from 66% who expressed that concern in 2002. The net effect may be increased pressure on members of the Republican majority to strike an independent course on a range of issues, resisting appeals for party discipline that have been effective for most of Mr. Bush's presidency. Those pressures will be greatest in the Northeast and Midwest, where Mr. Bush's approval rating stands at 32% and 36%, respectively. "All these [results] suggest unstable days ahead in the Republican caucus," says Mr. McInturff, whose firm advises many Republican lawmakers. Write to John Harwood at john.harwood@wsj.com 9 Hyperlinks in this Article: (1) http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/poll20050914.pdf (2) http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/poll20050914.pdf (3) http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/poll20050914.pdf (4) http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html (5) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112671447869140566,00.html?mod=discussions%5Fleft%5Fhs (6) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112671447869140566,00.html?mod=discussions%5Fleft%5Fhs (7) http://online.wsj.com/public/page/0,,8_0000-rp91_UauB_IXZBQumJq9sdE|ryJrKFzz-5gKF|cbIQCvMGn1W5aeY77VCIqUkrs9N,00.html?mod=ARTICLE_VIDEO (8) http://online.wsj.com/public/page/0,,8_0000-rp91_UauB_IXZBQumJq9sdE|ryJrKFzz-5gKF|cbIQCvMGn1W5aeY77VCIqUkrs9N,00.html?mod=ARTICLE_VIDEO (9) mailto:john.harwood@wsj.com -------- ENERGY -------- alternative energy Solarworld Moves to Tap Spain and US Markets REUTERS GERMANY: September 15, 2005 http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/32527/story.htm FRANKFURT - German solar energy company SolarWorld aims to double its exports to 60 percent of sales by 2008, its chief executive Frank Asbeck told Reuters on Wednesday. His comments came after the company announced it had set up subsidiaries in Spain and the United States to tap into the two major markets for its solar power products. Asbeck said the two new subsidiaries would be profitable immediately, and a new unit in China or one of Asia's so-called tiger economies would be set up in the first half next year. Shares in SolarWorld were up 1 percent at 111 euros at 1430 GMT after hitting a high of 117.75 euros, despite a dip in Frankfurt's technology sector index. The share has risen 21-fold since late 2003 as solar firms benefited from Germany's renewable energy laws that subsidise the use of solar power, driving up demand for equipment. SolarWorld said Spain was Europe's second-largest solar market, and that the US market was poised to expand after Congress passed a new energy bill that provides tax advantages for the purchase of solar power systems. Germany is the biggest market for solar energy in Europe. "Spain is one of the markets with most vigorous growth in Europe," said Faried Muscati, who is responsible for SolarWorld's export business, in a statement. Muscati said the company had closed business deals this year that made it one of the leading foreign solar firms in Spain. "With our new subsidiary in Madrid, we will further strengthen this position," he added. SolarWorld said the council of ministers of the Madrid government had agreed to raise total solar capacity in the next few years to 400 megawatts from 40 megawatts at the end of 2004. ---- CLP Holdings to Boost Asia Renewable Power Output REUTERS SINGAPORE: September 15, 2005 http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/32518/story.htm SINGAPORE - Hong-Kong based CLP Holdings Ltd plans to increase its renewable power generating capacity in Asia to 5 percent of its overall portfolio from 1 percent, a company executive said on Wednesday. Mike Nikkel, managing director of Southeast Asian business for the regional utility, said it was looking at greenfield projects from Thailand to Australia, with the likely investment estimated at over $700 million given average development costs. "We are pretty active right now," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Power-Gen conference in Singapore. CLP Holdings has a generating capacity of 18,000 megawatts, with 59 percent coming from coal plants, 30 percent from gas, 7 percent from nuclear power and 2 percent from oil-burning plants. Hydropower and renewables contributed 1 percent each, with the company operating wind plants in China. Nikkel said development costs for each megawatt of renewable power cost around $1 million, around double that for thermal coal plants. He said the money would come from banks and company funds, though he gave no timeframe for the investments. Asian countries are trying to reduce dependence on expensive oil imports, while analysts say regional companies can capitalise on demand from Europe and Japan for carbon credits from emission-cutting projects under the UN Kyoto Protocol. Renewables such as wind and solar power do not emit greenhouse gas emissions, blamed for global warming. ---- France to be Top EU Biofuel Maker by 2010 - Farm Minister REUTERS FRANCE: September 15, 2005 http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/32526/story.htm BORDEAUX - French Farm Minister Dominique Bussereau said on Wednesday the government's new biofuel output targets would propel France to be Europe's leading producer by 2010. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on Tuesday called for fuels to contain 5.75 percent of biofuel by 2008, a figure rising to 7 percent by 2010 and 10 percent by 2015 as part of a programme to boost biofuel usage. The European Commission had originally urged 5.75 percent incorporation in fuels by 2010. "It's perhaps still very low, but by then (2010) we will be Europe's top volume producer," Bussereau told a press conference after a meeting of the maize growers' group AGPM. "We hope all of Europe follows us with similar plans." France currently produces some 200,000 tonnes of ethanol, made from sugar beet or cereals, and 500,000 tonnes of biodiesel, usually produced from rapeseed. The EU's biggest producer Germany aims to have around two million tonnes of annual production capacity by 2006. Production in France is steadily rising and tenders have already been launched for extra capacity in the next few years. Villepin also said France would launch another tender by the end of this year for 1.8 million tonnes of new biofuel capacity. Bussereau acknowledged that the French targets were ambitious and would involve around three million hectares of cultivated land by 2010 and eight new biofuel factories, each representing an investment of some 100 million euros. ---- Hybrid Cars Burst onto Scene at Frankfurt Show Story by Michael Shields, European Auto Correspondent REUTERS GERMANY: September 15, 2005 http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/32524/story.htm FRANKFURT - Record fuel costs pushed hybrid cars to centre stage at the world's biggest car show this week but automakers argued over whether the rising popularity of petrol-electric vehicles was just the result of marketing hype. Long sniffed at as a fad by European carmakers enamoured of modern diesel motors that can be just as fuel efficient, hybrids are on the ascendancy as even erstwhile sceptics fall into line and rush to offer products with an environmental halo. "Woe to the company that ignores the customer," said Fritz Henderson, chairman of General Motors Europe, one of the seemingly few companies at the Frankfurt show not to trumpet a new hybrid offering or highlight its plans to make one. Hybrids yoke a petrol or diesel engine to at least one electric motor and batteries that let cars run on electricity at low speeds and which recharge by capturing energy from braking. They cost thousands more than standard engines, but are getting more of a look-in as petrol prices get painful and diesels remain rare in the crucial US market, where many customers think diesel motors belong in trucks, not cars. Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., whose hybrid Prius model has been a runaway hit, thinks hybrids can gain more of a foothold in Europe's diesel heartland. "We believe in 10 years' time the world will be filled with hybrid cars," Kazuo Okamoto, the world number-two carmaker's head of research and development, told reporters when asked if hybrids would ever be more than a niche product in Europe. Costs are coming down and the technology is advancing, so hybrids won't be limited to just big cars and SUVs, he said, adding: "We are sure that in the future the technology will be used for smaller cars as well." Toyota aims to sell around 20,000 Prius cars in Europe this year and around 1 million hybrids annually around the world by early in the next decade. Its premium Lexus brand forecasts that a quarter of its European sales next year will be hybrids. MORE THAN A FAD Jeff Schuster, head of global forecasting at J.D. Power-LMC Automotive Forecasting, said the fact that premium carmaker BMW had joined DaimlerChrysler and GM to co-develop advanced hybrids, and that Mercedes-Benz showed two concept hybrids in Frankfurt, proved hybrids were no fad. "They're hedging their bets in acknowledging that there is something to the hybrid technology in terms of consumers' wants and desires," he said. But Europeans' embrace of diesels means hybrids won't ever have the same popularity here as in the United States, where Schuster said they could grab 3.5 percent of the market by 2010-2012, the equivalent of 650,000 units a year. That volume could actually double in the unlikely event that carmakers drive down the premiums they charge for hybrids, he added. A new Lexus RX 400h luxury hybrid SUV, for instance, costs some $12,000 more than its older and slightly less fancy equivalent with a conventional engine, he said. "It's a smart purchase. People want to feel that they're doing the right thing," one senior US auto executive said of hybrid sales in the United States. "That's fine for a small portion of the population, but what about customers who go into a showroom and say, 'Here's the monthly payment I can afford, show me what you got'." Hybrids' triumphant rise underscores that fuel-cell cars remain far from commercially viable. Widespread sales of fuel-cell cars that run on hydrogen and emit only water are probably still at least a decade away, executives say. All the attention on hybrids crowded out advances in other fuel-saving technology such as burning biomass or natural gas. "Hybrid is perhaps an answer but there are other ones," said GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster, noting that a natural gas vehicle cost half as much to run as a petrol-powered car and around a third less than a diesel. "Let's not say hybrid is the solution to all our problems," he said, adding that politicians were wrong to give hybrids favoured treatment. Instead, they should set environmental standards and let the market decide how to meet them. -------- energy Senate Energy Committee Chairman: U.S. Poor Families Need More Energy Help September 15, 2005 — By Julie Vorman, Reuters http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=8796 WASHINGTON — Congress may need to boost funding for a $230 million program that helps poor American families make their homes more energy efficient because of Hurricane Katrina's impact on energy prices, the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee said Tuesday. Sen. Pete Domenici, a New Mexico Republican, said he asked Energy Secretary Sam Bodman to estimate how much additional funding the federal government may need for a weatherization assistance program. The program helps low-income families pay for more efficient heating and cooling systems in their homes and better windows. "It is becoming clear that heating homes this winter will cost quite a bit more than last year. For low-income families, the higher prices could create real hardships," Domenici said in a statement. Last week, the Energy Information Administration told Americans to prepare for a 71 percent jump in natural gas winter heating costs, due in part of Katrina's damage to offshore gas production and processing plants. Households that use heating oil will see an increase of around 31 percent. "After an assessment by Secretary Bodman, Congress should consider allocating additional funds for weatherization programs that could help families use less energy," Domenici said. The weatherization assistance program for low-income families had a budget of $230 million in fiscal 2005, which ends in two weeks. Before Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, the Bush administration proposed to keep the same funding in fiscal 2006. House and Senate budget writers endorsed an increase to $240 million. The federal government also runs a related $2.2 billion program, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, to help poor families pay their winter heating bills. The White House and a House appropriations committee have proposed cutting that funding to $2 billion in fiscal 2006. Separately, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said on Tuesday that energy legislation is being prepared that would make more oil and natural gas supplies available and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. "We are working on one as we speak," DeLay told reporters. "I was also shown the vulnerability when eight or nine refineries have been shut down and requiring us to waive EPA rules so that we can get gasoline to the market and allow us to buy gasoline from Europe, which we haven't been able to in the past," DeLay said. Texas Republican Joe Barton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said last week he was preparing a bill that would speed up environmental reviews and permits needed to build new U.S. refineries.