NucNews - January 21, 2006 -------- NUCLEAR -------- business Company gets record fine for hiding nuclear-plant damage 12:00 AM CST on Saturday, January 21, 2006 / Associated Press http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-nukeplant_21nat.ART.State.Edition2.22d82b68.html CLEVELAND – FirstEnergy Corp. agreed Friday to pay a record $28 million in fines for covering up an Ohio nuclear plant acid leak that nearly ate through the reactor vessel's 6-inch-thick steel cap. It was the most extensive corrosion ever seen at a U.S. nuclear reactor. The utility and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concluded that the boric-acid hole had been growing for at least four years at the Davis-Besse plant and that managers had ignored and withheld the evidence because they were more interested in profits than safety at the plant, on Lake Erie about 30 miles east of Toledo. U.S. Attorney Greg White said the government can prosecute FirstEnergy if it breaks the terms of the agreement, which calls for adopting certain safety standards and prohibits the nation's fourth-largest investor-owned utility from passing along the fine to its 4.4 million customers. "We have learned much from this experience," said Gary R. Leidich, president of the company's nuclear operations. The plant was closed for two years after the damage was discovered in 2002 but returned to full power in 2004. -------- depleted uranium Mushrooming depleted uranium (DU) scandal Heads roll at Veterans Administration Bob Nichols, SF Bay View January 21, 2006 http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m19809&l=i&size=1&hd=0 Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter charged Monday that the reason Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier this month was the growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq War. Writing in Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter No. 169, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York, stated, "The real reason for Mr. Principi’s departure was really never given, however a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moret naming depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the 'Gulf War Syndrome’ has fed a growing scandal about the continued use of uranium munitions by the US Military." Bernklau continued, "This malady (from uranium munitions), that thousands of our military have suffered and died from, has finally been identified as the cause of this sickness, eliminating the guessing. The terrible truth is now being revealed." He added, "Out of the 580,400 soldiers who served in GW1 (the first Gulf War), of them, 11,000 are now dead! By the year 2000, there were 325,000 on Permanent Medical Disability. This astounding number of 'Disabled Vets’ means that a decade later, 56% of those soldiers who served have some form of permanent medical problems!" The disability rate for the wars of the last century was 5 percent; it was higher, 10 percent, in Viet Nam. "The VA Secretary (Principi) was aware of this fact as far back as 2000," wrote Bernklau. "He, and the Bush administration have been hiding these facts, but now, thanks to Moret’s report, (it) ... is far too big to hide or to cover up!" "Terry Jamison, Public Affairs Specialist, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, at the VA Central Office, recently reported that 'Gulf Era Veterans’ now on medical disability, since 1991, number 518,739 Veterans," said Berklau. "The long-term effects have revealed that DU (uranium oxide) is a virtual death sentence," stated Berklau. "Marion Fulk, a nuclear physical chemist, who retired from the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab, and was also involved with the Manhattan Project, interprets the new and rapid malignancies in the soldiers (from the 2003 Iraq War) as 'spectacular … and a matter of concern!’" When asked if the main purpose of using DU was for "destroying things and killing people," Fulk was more specific: "I would say it is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people!" Principi could not be reached for comment prior to deadline. Bob Nichols is a Project Censored Award Winner. References 1. Depleted uranium: "Dirty bombs, dirty missiles, dirty bullets: A death sentence here and abroad" by Leuren Moret, http://www.sfbayview.com/081804/Depleteduranium081804.shtml 2. Veterans for Constitutional Law, 112 Jefferson Ave., Port Jefferson NY 11777, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director, (516) 474-4261, fax 516-474-1968. 3. Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter. Email Gary Kohls, gkohls@cpinternet.com, with "Subscribe" in the subject line. The incoming address of this article is : http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=NIC20060121&articleId=1771 -------- india US diplomat sees ‘complexity’ in India-US N-talks Saturday January 21, 2006 Pakistan News International http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jan2006-daily/21-01-2006/main/main12.htm NEW DELHI: The United States and India face difficult negotiations on a landmark civilian nuclear pact, but officials said they remain hopeful of reaching an agreement on the deal that leaders of both countries have hailed as a centrepiece of their emerging alliance. But it was apparent at the end of talks in New Delhi that India and the United States remain divided on the other major issue discussed: how best to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions. While there is a clear desire, especially on the part of India, to keep the issues separate, American and Indian officials fear some members of the US Congress could balk at approving the nuclear pact if New Delhi does not back the US on Iran. The nuclear pact, signed in July, was the focus of talks between US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and his Indian counterpart, Shyam Saran. "The situation is unique, India’s position is unique and there is complexity and difficulty to these talks which is inherent in the subject," Burns told reporters after the talks. "We will continue these talks hopefully toward an agreement in the not-too-distant future." US and Indian officials want to hammer out a deal before US President George W Bush visits India, probably in early March. Burns said it had a "fair chance" of being ready before then. Under the deal, Washington is to share civilian nuclear technology and supply nuclear fuel to India in return for New Delhi separating its tightly entwined civilian and military nuclear programmes and allowing international inspections of its civilian atomic facilities. The separation is necessary because the United States has only agreed to recognise India as having a civilian nuclear programme — not as a legitimate nuclear weapons state. Burns and other US officials say the deal is beneficial because it will bring India into the international nuclear community, even if the country hasn’t signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam said at the press conference that there was a "fund of goodwill for India in the US Congress," and that India remains hopeful that the deal will go through. On Iran, Burns reiterated the United States’ desire that the Islamic republic be hauled before the UN Security Council. India, in contrast, has pushed a softer line, urging negotiation with Tehran, although officials say they agree with Washington that Tehran should not develop weapons. -------- iran Nuclear tango forces new US strategy By Guy Dinmore in Washington Published: January 21 2006 02:00 Financial Times http://news.ft.com/cms/s/1a06ef56-8a24-11da-86d1-0000779e2340.html Senior White House strategists holding brainstorming sessions in Washington this week over how to stop Iran's nuclear programme or effect regime change had only to look out their window for .a possible solution. Gathered in nearby Lafayette Park were a few hundred supporters - exiled Iranians and Americans - of the People's Mujahideen Organisation (MKO). They were demonstrating against the Islamic regime and calling for a lifting of the US designation of the MKO as a terrorist group - a move taken by the Clinton administration in an effort to reach out to moderates in the Iranian establishment. A US spokesman confirmed that senior officials were discussing Iran during the rally on Thursday. But they ignored the protesters. A second US spokesman said there was no consideration within the Bush administration to lift the ban on the MKO and its political wing. The crisis facing the MKO - which backed Iraq's Saddam Hussein and enjoys only marginal support within Iran - is only one aspect of the deep-rooted problems within the splintered Iranian opposition. Recent Iranian opposition conferences held in Brussels and Berlin, mostly among leftwing secular groups and activists seeking a constitutional referendum, confirmed to the US and European governments the futility of seeking an answer to the Iran crisis outside the country. The evolution in US thinking goes beyond the opposition. Three years ago, some senior officials - often with an ear to their neoconservative advisers - were persuaded that the Iranian regime was close to internal collapse, or to an overthrow by a restless populace. Getting rid of Mr Hussein in Baghdad would hasten the process, they were told. Now, more cautious thinking prevails in the second Bush administration as it tries, despite its lack of a diplomatic presence in Iran since the US embassy takeover in 1979, to fathom the nature of the threat presented by Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the newly elected fundamentalist president, and how to respond to Iran's incremental steps to further its nuclear programme. This caution has been reflected in Washington's own step-by-step approach towards the diplomatic dance involving Russia and the European Union trio of France, Germany and the UK. US officials are even questioning whether sanctions against Iran are the right move, if isolation is what Mr Ahmadi-Nejad is actually craving. Some analysts, who asked not to be identified, said that at times London comes across as more hardline than Washington with regard to supporting opposition groups inside Iran. Diplomats say that overall, relations between the US and the EU have improved hugely, largely thanks to Iran's nuclear moves, but also the election of Angela Merkel as German chancellor. "We are far from the difficult times of spring 2003," one senior European diplomat said, referring to the pre-invasion divisions over Iraq. ---- No Military Options By Joseph Cirincione Saturday, January 21, 2006 DeshCalling http://deshcalling.blogspot.com/2006/01/no-military-options.html Iran is moving to restart its suspended uranium enrichment program. Negotiations with the European Union have collapsed and the crisis is escalating. Does the United States -- or Israel -- have a military option? The same neoconservative pundits who campaigned for the invasion of Iraq are now beating the drums on Iran. Urging us this week to keep military options open, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol said Iran’s “nuclear program could well be getting close to the point of no return.” Writing from the same talking points, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer said, “Instead of being years away from the point of no return for an Iranian bomb…Iran is probably just months away.” Do they reflect the thinking of senior officials closely aligned with these political currents? No official has indicated that they do. But just one year ago, Vice President Cheney seemed to be thinking along exactly these lines when he told radio host Don Imus on Inauguration Day, "Iran is right at the top of the list." Cheney came close to endorsing military action, noting that "the Israelis might well decide to act first and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards." There is no need for military strikes against Iran. The country is five to ten years away from the ability to enrich uranium for fuel or bombs. Even that estimate, shared by the Defense Intelligence Agency and experts at IISS, ISIS, and University of Maryland, assumes Iran goes full-speed ahead and does not encounter any of the technical problems that typically plague such programs. This is not a nuclear bomb crisis, it is a nuclear regime crisis. US Ambassador John Bolton has correctly pointed out that this is a key test for the Security Council. If Iran is not stopped the entire nonproliferation regime will be weakened, and with it the UN system. But it will have to be diplomats, not F-15s that stop the mullahs. An air strike against a soft target, such as the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan (which this author visited in 2005) would inflame Muslim anger, rally the Iranian public around an otherwise unpopular government and jeopardize further the US position in Iraq. Finally, the strike would not, as is often said, delay the Iranian program. It would almost certainly speed it up. That is what happened when the Israelis struck at the Iraq program in 1981. The Failure of the Osirak Raid A bit of history: Back in June of 1991, then-Defense Secretary Cheney gave a photograph of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak to the man who had commanded the Israeli air force during the raid on the site in 1981. "With thanks and appreciation for the outstanding job he did on the Iraqi Nuclear Program in 1981," Cheney wrote, "which made our job much easier in Desert Storm." Cheney may have forgotten that the Reagan administration condemned the raid when it took place, as did most nations. And he may not be aware that the Israeli raid, far from crippling Iraq's nuclear program, actually accelerated it. The raid was a tactical success but a strategic failure. After Israel bombed the Iraqi reactor on June 7, 1981, using U.S.-supplied F-16s and F-15s, the Reagan administration said, "The United States government condemns the reported Israeli air strike on the Iraqi nuclear facility, the unprecedented character of which cannot but seriously add to the already tense situation in the area." Most other nations joined in denouncing the action. Israel defended the raid by saying that the Osirak reactor "was intended, despite statements to the contrary, for the production of atomic bombs. The goal of these bombs was Israel." The Israelis were right, at least about Saddam Hussein's plan to use the reactor to make bomb fuel. He intended to use the research reactor Iraq had purchased from France in 1979 to irradiate uranium, producing plutonium that could be extracted for the core of a bomb. The 40-megawatt reactor was near completion at the time of the raid, but it had not yet been fueled with uranium rods. The raid was hotly debated in the government of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Many, such as Yehoshua Saguy, the head of the intelligence division of the Israeli Defense Forces, argued that Israel should continue to try to find a nonmilitary solution to the threat, as it would take Iraq five to 10 years to produce the material needed for a bomb. In the end, Begin went with the worst-case estimate of a bomb within one to two years and ordered the attack. The raid, however, speeded up the Iraqi program. According to former Iraqi nuclear official Khadir Hamza, "Israel made a mistake." Hussein had planned to slowly divert plutonium from the reactor, which was under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. His diversion plan might have escaped detection, but with what we now know, it also probably would have taken much longer than even the 10 years Saguy and others estimated at the time. The program was proceeding slowly and had run into numerous technical problems, while Iraq's intense war with Iran was diverting resources from the project. The raid, however, energized Saddam Hussein. He launched a new effort to secretly construct gas centrifuges and other devices (particularly electromagnetic isotope separation units) to produce weapons-grade uranium. The program went underground and mushroomed. "At the beginning we had approximately 500 people working, which increased to 7,000 working after the Israeli bombing," Hamza explained to a Washington audience in November 2000, "The secret program became a much larger and ambitious program." Lesson of the Raid Israel had pulled off a remarkable military raid, striking targets with great precision over long distances. But the bombing set back Israel more than Iraq. It further harmed Israel's international reputation, later worsened by the ill-fated 1982 invasion of Lebanon, while making Iraq appear a victim of Israeli aggression. Officials heralded the "Begin doctrine" of preemptive strikes, but the attack made Israel complacent. In the words of Israeli-born scholar Avner Cohen, author of Israel and the Bomb,"The operational success proved to be profoundly and strategically deceptive," as Israel remained unaware of Iraq's new efforts throughout most of the 1980s. Internally, Saddam Hussein's nuclear ambitions went from a side project to an obsession. Ten years later, in 1991, he was closer to producing a nuclear bomb with uranium than he might ever have been pursuing a plutonium path through Osirak. The raid had not, despite Cheney's praise, made "our job much easier" but had complicated an already difficult problem. Hussein dispersed and hardened his secret new facilities and protected them with air defenses. In the 1991 war, 43 days of coalition bombing failed to destroy the program, which ended only when U.N. disarmament teams methodically destroyed the equipment on the ground. Today, with Iran, many of my colleagues would like to keep this option open -if only as a bluff- believing that we need the threat of military action to force Iran into compromise. They may feel the need to prove their “toughness” to the current administration. But it is a dangerous stick to wave, particularly when you do not have any real control over it. The true lessons of the Osirak raid are worth remembering as optimistic plans for "solving" Iran now come flying out of neoconservative circles. ---- Iran denies has shifted assets from Europe TEHRAN (AFP) Jan 21, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/2006/060121113441.hq982uo9.html Iran on Saturday denied it has shifted funds out of Europe due to fears of economic sanctions over its nuclear programme, after a swirl of contradictory reports on whether such transfers had taken place. A deputy central bank chief categorically denied that Iran was moving foreign currency out of Europe to Southeast Asia, in comments that appeared to flatly contradict previous reported remarks by the bank's president. "At the moment, Iran does not have any schedule to transfer its foreign exchange accounts to the named countries," Mohammad-Jafar Mojarad told the state news agency IRNA when asked if Iran has transferred the accounts to Asia. The public relations department of the central bank also moved to say that any statements that claimed funds had been moved out of Europe were false. "Management of foreign exchange reserves... will be followed as before. Therefore, whatever recently was published quoting the central bank and outside this framework are rejected," the student news agency ISNA quoted a central bank statement as saying. The head of the central bank, Ebrahim Sheibani had said on Wednesday, in comments that were only reported by Iranian news agencies on Friday, that Iran was moving funds from Europe elsewhere. "We transfer foreign currency reserves related to all sectors including oil foreign exchanges to wherever it is good for us and we have started this transfer," Sheibani was quoted as saying. The Iranian news agencies who reported the remarks said he was responding to a question over whether reports Iran was moving foreign accounts of hard currency from Europe to southeastern Asia were correct. Sheibani himself however on Saturday rejected the idea that such transfers had already taken place, even though he left the door open for such a possibility in the future. "We will transfer Iran's foreign accounts whenever we believe it is necessary," Sheibani told state television. The United States said on Friday that any Iranian move to transfer currency deposits away from Europe would be a sign of growing isolation amid heightening tensions over its nuclear programme. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said such market manoeuvres would not deter moves to refer its nuclear activities to the UN Security Council. "I think it is an indication that Iran is further isolating itself from the rest of the world," McCormack told a press briefing. "I don't know what it is that they hope to accomplish by doing this." The international crisis over Iran's nuclear programme escalated when the Islamic republic resumed sensitive uranium enrichment research on January 10, despite calls by European negotiators to maintain a halt to such activities. London, Paris and Berlin called an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency for February 2, as Western countries aim to gather support for referring Iran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. ---- Iran wants China in on Russian uranium enrichment plan: report BERLIN, Jan 21 (AFP) Jan 21, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/2006/060121103217.u9vjk29a.html Iran wants China to be involved in possible enrichment of uranium with Russia aimed at ensuring Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons, according to the German weekly Der Spiegel. In its next edition to appear Monday, the weekly quotes top government sources as saying Iran had told German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of its willingness to discuss the Russian plan. "One of the Iranians' conditions is that China also be involved in this joint venture," it adds. The head of Russia's atomic energy agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, said Friday that "Iranian partners", whom he did not name, were due in Russia in the coming days to talk about the plan, which Tehran had earlier officially snubbed. Russia is building a nuclear power station at Bushehr in Iran, and the United States and European Union suspect that Tehran is using the project to mask a secret bomb-making program, something hotly denied by the Iranian government. Russia has offered to handle the enrichment of Iran's uranium supplies on its soil as part of an effort to ease fears that the civilian technology could be used for military purposes. According to Der Spiegel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had backed the "Russian solution" in telephone calls with US President George W. Bush and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. Moscow's foreign ministry reported Friday that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had telephoned his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the crisis. On Thursday, Lavrov held talks in Moscow with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy. Britain, Germany and France have been leading the EU negotiations with Iran aimed at ensuring its atomic programme does not pose a threat. Following the collapse of the talks as a result of Iranian insistence on resuming nuclear research, the three asked Wednesday for a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on February 2, with a view to referring Iran to the UN Security Council for action. However the Western powers are anxious to ensure that any action is not vetoed in the council by Russia or China. -------- israel Talk of military action in Iran standoff 1/21/2006 (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-21-iran-nuclear-standoff_x.htm JERUSALEM — Israel's defense minister hinted Saturday that the Jewish state is preparing for military action to stop Iran's nuclear program, but said international diplomacy must be the first course of action. "Israel will not be able to accept an Iranian nuclear capability and it must have the capability to defend itself, with all that that implies, and this we are preparing," Shaul Mofaz said. His comments at an academic conference stopped short of overtly threatening a military strike but were likely to add to growing tensions with Iran. Germany's defense minister said in an interview published Saturday that he is hopeful of a diplomatic solution to the impasse over Iran's nuclear program, but argued that "all options" should remain open. Asked by the Bild am Sonntag weekly whether the threat of a military solution should remain in place, Franz Josef Jung was quoted as responding: "Yes, we need all options." French President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that France could respond with nuclear weapons against any state-sponsored terrorist attack. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Saturday that Chirac's threats reflect the true intentions of nuclear nations, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. "The French president uncovered the covert intentions of nuclear powers in using this lever (nuclear weapons) to determine political games," IRNA quoted Asefi as saying. Israel long has identified Iran as its biggest threat and accuses Tehran of pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran says its atomic program is peaceful. Iran broke U.N. seals at a uranium enrichment plant Jan. 10 and said it was resuming nuclear research after a 2 1/2-year freeze. Germany, France and Britain said two days later that talks aimed at halting Iran's nuclear progress were at a dead end and called for Iran's referral to the U.N. Security Council. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, will meet Feb. 2 to discuss possible referral. Israel's Mofaz said sanctions and international oversight of Iran's nuclear program stood as the "correct policy at this time." In Germany, Jung called himself "confident that there will be a diplomatic solution in the case of Iran." Israeli leaders have also repeatedly said they hope the crisis can be resolved through diplomacy, and they said any military action would have to be part of an international effort. They have denied having plans for a unilateral preventive strike. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Tehran might still agree to Moscow's offer to move its uranium enrichment program to Russia, a step backed by the United States and Europeans as a way to resolve the deadlock. Israel's concerns about Iran have grown since the election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said last year that Israel should be "wiped off the map." On Friday, Iran's Students News Agency reported Friday that Central Bank governor Ebrahim Sheibani said Iran had begun moving its foreign currency reserves from European banks and transferring them to an undisclosed location as protection against possible U.N. sanctions. Sheibani backed away Saturday from his statement that the transfers were already underway, and Iran's Central Bank said there had been no change in its currency policy. Estimates put Iranian funds in Europe at as much as $50 billion. -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- arizona Nuclear reactor restarted, solutions sought for coolant line The Arizona Republic Jan. 21, 2006 http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/breakingnews/012106palo_verde PHOENIX - A shut-down reactor at the nation's largest nuclear plant has been restarted, but the unit could operate at reduced power levels for weeks as utility officials explore solutions to a vibrating coolant pipe. One of three reactors at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station had been taken out of service after operators discovered a problem with a cooling line used when the unit shuts down. The line experienced an "acoustic impact" that vibrated the line beyond acceptable levels. The reactor was restarted Friday, although crews failed to find a quick fix. Plant operators say Palo Verde can operate safely at reduced power levels until the problem is fixed. The other two reactors at the plant remain at full power. Palo Verde, about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix, supplies electricity to about 4 million customers in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California. Arizona Public Service, which owns 29.5 percent of the plant and operates it for a consortium of utility companies in four states, has known about the vibrations since 2001, but the problem became more pronounced after the utility installed new steam generators this fall during the reactor's scheduled refueling. The utility detected the increased rattle and hum after restarting the reactor before Christmas. After taking the reactor out of service Tuesday, the utility attempted to weigh down the pipe, a fix that proved unsuccessful. Now, the utility has identified other potential short-term remedies, including installation of hydraulic shock absorbers, a dampener or clamps and springs that would offset the vibrations. A permanent fix could include relocating a part on the shutdown cooling line. Such a fix wouldn't be attempted until the reactor receives its next refueling in about 18 months. The loss of power in the reactor shouldn't immediately affect the utility's ability to send electricity to homes and businesses in metropolitan Phoenix. Electricity use is at its lowest this time of year. "The thing we need to be concerned about is the possibility of these problems extending into the summer months when we absolutely need that power to meet Arizona's electricity needs," said Kris Mayes, a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates electric utilities. Palo Verde has been among the nation's top performing plants since it opened in 1986. Its three reactors can produce nearly 4,000 megawatts of electricity. The plant has experienced numerous outages over the past two years that have resulted in more than a dozen shutdowns. Most recently, two operating reactors at the plant were shut down in October after regulators raised concerns about the emergency cooling system design. The plant was restarted a week later after a review. -------- ohio Penalty makes some who live near David-Besse edgy By DAN DEARTH Staff writer Port Clinton, OH News Herald January 21, 2006 http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060121/NEWS01/601210301/1002 OAK HARBOR -- A handful of residents living near the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station say they feel anxious after hearing the plant's owner, FirstEnergy, agreed to pay a $28 million penalty for breaking safety regulations. Kolb Road resident Lucille Kaiser said she feels Davis-Besse's managers deceived the public by letting the plant continue to operate four years ago despite knowing an acid leak nearly ate through a 6-inch steel cap on the reactor head. "We don't feel safe at all," Kaiser said. "I think the fine's too little." FirstEnergy agreed on Friday to pay $28 million in fines, restitution and community service projects after the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that Davis-Besse officials hid information about the acid leak in 2002. "We felt the (Davis-Besse) upper management has hidden a lot of stuff," said Judy Andersen, a resident who lives on Ohio 2. "What blind inspector looked at that place? "People were covering up to save their jobs. How can you end up with holes the size they had?" She said friends might have had a point when they asked why she and her husband, Ray, moved several years ago from Wisconsin to within eight miles of Davis-Besse. Although Kenneth Laughery feels relatively safe living close to the plant, he said the fine should open FirstEnergy's eyes. "I hope the plant takes care of its problems once and for all," he said. FirstEnergy has done everything in its power to make Davis-Besse safe from the time the plant was shut down in 2002 to its restart two years ago, said Richard G. Wilkins, FirstEnergy spokesman. The utility giant has acknowledged full responsibility for the leak, spending $600 million making repairs to the plant and buying replacement power during the shutdown. "The NRC has found Davis-Besse has improved in every facet of operation," Wilkins said. "We have to regain the trust of the public and the regulators." FirstEnergy reported the reactor head problem as soon as it was discovered to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Wilkins said. A group of employees covered up the problem, signing off that the plant was in good shape. Wilkins said several of the employees involved in the cover-up have been fired or disciplined otherwise. On Thursday, a federal grand jury indicted former Davis-Besse engineering design manager David Geisen, former engineer Andrew Siemaszko and consultant Rodney Cook. Geisen, 45, of DePere, Wisc., and Siemaszko, 51, of Spring, Texas, are charged with five counts each of making false statements to the NRC. Cook was charged in four counts. A fourth former Davis-Besse employee, Prasoon Goyal, 60, of Toledo, entered into an agreement with the government. However, details were unavailable. The Associated Press contributed to this article -------- vermont Yankee power boost may exceed 'fence-line' standard January 21, 2006 By Susan Smallheer Rutland Herald Staff http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060121/NEWS/601210354/1003 BRATTLEBORO — The Windham Regional Commission has raised more questions about whether Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant can keep within state limits on released radiation if it boosts power production. In a letter to state Health Commissioner Paul Jarris, the executive director of the regional commission wrote that he'd received confidential information that the plant would exceed the state standard of 20 millirems of radiation once it boosts power production by 20 percent. "I recently was told that relevant state agencies have been advised by ENVY (Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee) that the fence-line radiation dose after power uprate will be significantly higher than previously expected or predicted," James Matteau wrote. Health Department spokesman Robert Stirewalt said Thursday that Jarris would not comment on the letter until he had had a chance to respond personally to Matteau's concerns. Stirewalt said it would be early next week before Jarris would speak publicly on the ongoing controversy on "fence-line" radiation releases. Stirewalt said that Jarris wanted to talk to his staff experts about the issue before commenting. Last year, the state said one of its radiation monitors measured 24.9 millirems at the fence line around the Vernon reactor, while Vermont Yankee claimed its monitors showed only 12 millirems of direct gamma radiations were released. A millirem is one-thousandth of a rem. A full millirem is about how much radiation a person would be exposed to on a coast-to-coast airline flight, according to documents on hyperphysics posted online by Georgia State University. Robert Williams, spokesman for Entergy Nuclear, the owner of Vermont Yankee, said the company was firmly committed to meeting the state standard, which is 25 percent stricter than the federal limit of 25 millirems. Two years ago, during state hearings on the proposed power boost, Entergy site vice president Jay Thayer said the state standard would be met, or the plant would reduce power. Williams said Entergy and the Health Department had agreed on a third party to try and resolve the disputes over the fence-line radiation readings. Last year, the state said its tests showed Entergy was in violation of the state standard at one location. Entergy contested that reading. "We fully intend to stay within the state limit," Williams said. Matteau said the problem was how the radiation was measured and at what location. By state law, the Windham Regional Commission — the region's planning and development review group — is a party to Vermont Yankee's plans for a power boost, a 20-year license extension and plans to build a high-level radioactive waste facility on the grounds of the Vernon reactor. Matteau said he couldn't say who was the source of his confidential information. "But I talked to the folks at the Health Department and the Public Service Department and I can't get to the bottom of (the radiation issue)," he said. "Too many of these discussions take place among individuals behind closed doors and the public doesn't know squat," he said. "I've asked the Health Department to give me an explanation, we need some public accountability," Matteau said. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. -------- MILITARY -------- arms Croatia probes arms sales to Macedonia: report Jan 21, 2006 ZAGREB, (AFP) http://www.spacewar.com/2006/060121132212.lxxalwbc.html Croatia is probing a sale of some 5,100 rockets to Macedonia during the 2001 inter-ethnic conflict there, which caused losses of some two million euros (2.4 million dollars) to the country's defence ministry, a local daily reported on Saturday. At the time a local military equipment producer, Djuro Djakovic Alatnica, reached a deal on selling some 5,100 rockets to Macedonia, the Vecernji List reported. As the producer did not have the requested quantity of 128-millimetre (5-inch) rockets it was agreed that the defence ministry loaned them, the daily said. However the rockets were never returned returned or the ministry compensated, it added. The probe was prompted by a defence ministry's internal report on the missing rockets made in July last year. "The investigation is led by the Zagreb district attorney's office, civil and military police," Martina Mihordin, spokeswoman for the state attorney's office, told the Vecernji List. She did not elaborate. While confirming the deal to lend the rockets to the Djuro Djakovic Alatnica company, Jozo Rados, defence minister at the time, told the paper he did not know what happened later. The seven-month conflict between Skopje's security forces and ethnic Albanian rebels, which almost led the former Yugoslav republic into civil war, ended in August 2001 with a Western-brokered peace accord. -------- iraq A Town Becomes a Prison January 21, 2006 by Dahr Jamail (with Arkan Hamed) (Inter Press Service) http://www.antiwar.com/jamail/?articleid=8424 SINIYAH, Iraq - The People of Siniyah town 200 km north of Baghdad are angry over a six-mile long sand wall constructed by the U.S. military to check attacks by rebels. "Our city has become a battlefield," 35 year-old engineer Fuad Al-Mohandis told IPS at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city. "So many of our houses have been destroyed, and the Americans are placing landmines in areas where they think there might be fighters, even though most of the time it is near the homes of innocent civilians." Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division have been coming under nearly daily attack from roadside bombs. Fuad said the U.S. military was now enforcing a curfew from 5pm. He said "so many explosions occur now which terrify our children." The U.S. military began to use bulldozers Jan. 7 to build a large sand barrier around the town in an effort to isolate fighters who have been attacking U.S. patrols. Oil pipelines from the area which lead to Turkey have been regularly sabotaged by resistance groups. The drastic measures have enraged many of the 3,000 residents of the town. "They think by these measures they can stop the resistance," Amer, a 43-year-old clerk at the nearby Beji oil refinery told IPS. "But the Americans are creating more resistance by doing these things. The resistance will not stop attacking them unless they pull out of our country." The clerk said he had not been able to leave his house for several days, and was unable to work or to visit family members outside Siniyah. The U.S. military has named the project of building the huge sand wall 'Operation Verdun' after a battle from World War I. Occupation forces believe the city has become the main launching pad for attacks on their patrols, as well as mortar attacks on their nearby Summerall Base. Checkpoints have been set up near the town, with U.S. and Iraqi security forces checking every car for weapons and explosives. "We can't work any more, our income depends on distributing fuel," truck driver Abdul Qadr told IPS at one of the checkpoints. "We are in a very bad situation. The city is isolated now and they are putting barricades everywhere to stop the fighters. Our houses are raided daily while they are searching for foreigners, yet they can't find any of them." Abdul Qadr, who grew up in Siniyah, told IPS he and his neighbors felt they were in a "concentration camp." That is also how residents of Fallujah and Samarra have described their towns after U.S. forces built similar walls around them. An 18km long wall has been constructed by the U.S. military in Samarra, while Israeli-style military checkpoints remain in place in Fallujah. The occupation forces have imposed similar measures also in other towns such as Al-Qa'im, Haditha, Ramadi, Balad, and Abu Hishma. While such security measures have been in place for some time in several towns, the attacks on security forces have only risen, to an average of more than 100 a day over recent months. "The Americans think the fighters are coming from outside Iraq," said Qadr. "But they are not. Can't they see the only real solution is to let the people of a country rule themselves?" -------- israel / palestine Israeli troops injure wall protesters Saturday 21 January 2006 Aljazeera http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1140771D-C2C9-4C66-9690-1DBD674FABAB.htm Aljazeera's correspondent in Palestine reports that Israeli forces have injured several demonstrators in clashes west of Ram Allah. Shereen Abu Aqla said more than 2000 people, including foreign peace activists, gathered to demonstrate against Israel's illegal separation barrier on Friday. The protest started at Bilain village where Palestinian lands have been confiscated to build the wall. The confrontation started when Israeli occupation soldiers tried to stop the demonstration. The demonstrators fought the soldiers by hand, and the forces responded with rubber-coated metal bullets injuring several Palestinians. Bilain has been witnessing since February 2004 continuous anti-separation wall demonstrations. About 2300 hectares of farmland has been confiscated from the villagers in the area in favour of the separation wall which Israel intends to build, saying it will protect it from Palestinian bombers. A bomber blew himself up on Thursday in a crowded pedestrian mall near Tel Aviv's central bus station, injuring at least 22 people. Thursday's was the first such attack in Israel since a truce expired at the end of last year. The bombing was also the first since Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, was incapacitated by a stroke on 4 January. The attack could put pressure on interim leader Ehud Olmert to launch strong reprisals as Palestinians prepare for parliamentary elections next week. Re-divide Jerusalem In other developments, the Israeli Labour party says it would be willing to re-divide Jerusalem and hand over the city's Arab eastern sector to the Palestinians under a final peace accord, an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday. According to the new Labour election platform, drawn up by senior party members, the centre-left party would be willing to hand over all the Arab districts of occupied east Jerusalem, the website of the Haaretz daily newspaper said. "Jerusalem, in all its Jewish neighbourhoods, will be Israel's eternal capital," the platform states. "This is a statement that we are willing to give up the Muslim neighbourhoods of Jerusalem in order to strengthen the Jewish majority," Labour deputy Yuli Tamir told Haaretz. There was no immediate confirmation from Labour party officials. Mainstream party Although the party would seek to retain control of Jewish neighbourhoods and holy Jewish sites in east Jerusalem, including in the Old City, it marks the first time a mainstream party has shown willingness to cede parts of Jerusalem. The platform is to be officially unveiled at a party convention on Sunday, Haaretz said. It also proposes a freeze on all investments in Jewish development in the West Bank and that all unauthorised settlement outposts be removed, both key demands of the internationally-drafted Middle East peace road map. The report came a day after a poll showed that more than half of Israeli Jews would be willing to hand over the city's Arab eastern sector in exchange for a final peace agreement. Statistics compiled by Tazpit Research and published in Haaretz showed 54.4% of Israelis would give up Arab neighbourhoods in annexed east Jerusalem, but without relinquishing control over the Old City. Unilateral pullout A poll conducted by the Israeli newspaper showed most Israelis favour a further unilateral pullout from occupied West Bank land following last year's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, an Israeli newspaper poll showed on Friday. Fifty-one per cent would approve a unilateral pullout from land Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war because they believed Palestinian leaders were incapable of negotiating a deal with Israel, according to the newspaper Maariv. Olmert was a strong supporter of the Gaza withdrawal, which was completed in September and boosted hopes for Middle East peace. Olmert has not said whether he would pursue a further unilateral pullout from West Bank land. Two polls published on Friday showed Olmert's centrist Kadima party winning the largest share of seats in Israel's 120-member parliament with 43, ahead of a general election scheduled for28 March, in line with previous surveys. -------- POLITICS -------- propaganda wars US message screen angers Castro Castro does not mince his words when discussing the US Saturday 21 January 2006, 10:40 Makka Time, 7:40 GMT http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8EC36E3B-8D59-4E05-8F71-1EDBB1807025.htm The US has taken a new direct route to getting its message across in Cuba and has been accused of provocation by Fidel Castro. An electronic screen perched on the fifth floor of the six-storey US Interests Section (USIS) in Havana projects messages in crimson letters more than a metre high. On Monday and Tuesday it began broadcasting the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the thoughts of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr and the latest news, to surprised passers by on Havana's seafront. Unsurprisingly the Cuban leader Castro did not welcome the screen with open arms. Speaking on state television on Friday he said: "I must analyse the provocations, the outlandish things (US authorities) are doing." The USIS said in a statement: "it is here to stay. We are trying to provide the Cuban people uncensored information. The intention is to break the news embargo Cubans are subjected to." The screen, however, was not turned on Wednesday and Thursday. Tense ties Castro, 79, also claimed the United States was "planning to break the migratory accords" agreed with Bill Clinton's government, but did not provide any further details. The accords are central to the neighbours' tense bilateral ties. They stipulate that any Cubans trying to emigrate to the United States who are picked up at sea by US authorities are repatriated to Cuba. The new lighting fixture is the latest US effort to draw Cuban public attention to what the United States sees as human rights concerns in Cuba. The former top US diplomat in Cuba, James Cason, started the campaign in 2004, which has been expanded by his successor Michael Parmly, who took over at the USIS in September. The United States and Cuba do not have full diplomatic relations, but maintain interest sections in each other's capitals. Washington has had a full economic embargo on Havana since 1961. Sharp tongue Castro has recently launched several attacks on senior US diplomats, using language considered strident even by his standards. On 23 December he called US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "mad" after previously labeling Parmly as a "little gangster". Castro's tirade against the US followed Rice's meeting last month with a US government commission intended to prepare for a democratic transition in Cuba after Castro. Castro told the Cuban parliament: "I am going to tell you what I think about this famous commission: they are a group of shit-eaters who do not deserve the world's respect. In this context, it does not matter if it was the mad woman who talks of transition -it is a circus." The attack followed Castro's comments a day earlier when he attacked Parmly for criticising the regime at a speech marking International Human Rights. Parmly said: "The Cuban regime's hurling of angry and often violent groups against pro-democratic dissidents is particularly disgusting," adding that such actions recalled the Nazis. -------- OTHER -------- environment Ramapough Mountain Indians Sue Ford Over Toxic Contamination January 21, 2006 (ENS) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2006/2006-01-23-09.asp PASSAIC, New Jersey - Attorneys representing the Ramapough Mountain Tribe and other residents of Ringwood, New Jersey have filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company and other defendants for property damage and personal injuries allegedly caused by the improper disposal of toxic waste from Ford’s former Mahwah, New Jersey automobile plant. The lawsuit, Wayne Mann, et al. v. Ford Motor Company, et al. was filed Wednesday in Superior Court, Passaic County. It alleges that the defendants dumped thousands of tons of paint sludge and other toxic material decades ago that is still contaminating the soil, air and groundwater of the community. The suit accuses Ford and others of negligence, fraud, consumer fraud, conspiracy, trespass, and battery for allegedly failing to tell residents how dangerous the waste was, and then failing to clean it up properly. Although 12 defendants are listed on the complaint in addition to Ford, Kevin Madonna, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told ENS, "Ford is responsible for the majority of the waste at the site." “Ford’s choice to perform four inadequate investigations and cleanups has devastated this community,” Madonna said in a statement Wednesday. Madonna is part of an A-list legal team that includes his partner Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and The Cochran Firm. Madonna says Kennedy will be involved in the lawsuit on an "as needed" basis. Jon Holt, a Ford spokesman, said the company had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. The plaintiffs are asking for trial by jury. The 13 count complaint seeks medical monitoring and unspecified financial compensation. In a separate filing last month, attorneys put the Borough of Ringwood on notice that it also may be sued. The attorneys said they would seek $3 million per resident, a total that could exceed $2 billion. Known by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the Ringwood Mines Landfill Site in Ringwood Borough, Passaic County, New Jersey, the site at issue is about 0.5 mile wide and two miles long. It consists of a series of abandoned mine shafts and pits, inactive landfills, and open dumps. The Wanaque Reservoir is supplied by neighboring streams, two originating in the immediate vicinity of the site. The reservoir provides drinking water to about 2.5 million people. About 20 water supply wells draw water from the bedrock aquifer, which supplies a few residences and industries in the area, and one spring is less than half a mile from the site. The Ford Mahwah plant operated from 1955-1980. After an initial investigation, in 1983, the EPA designated Upper Ringwood as one of America’s most toxic sites, placing it on the Superfund list. The history of the site goes back to the 1700s when iron mines were operated there. Ringwood is located in the Ramapo Mountains at the eastern end of New Jersey. The area, known as the Highlands, contains what geologists consider to be the oldest rock formations in the world. Mining ended in the early 1900s and the site was bought by the U.S. government before 1940 and then sold to a succession of owners. From 1967 until 1974, Ringwood Realty, one of the former owners, deposited waste products for Ford Motor Company including car parts, solvents, and paint sludges, on the ground surface and in abandoned mine shafts. In 1970, Ringwood Realty donated 290 acres in the southern portion of the site to the Ringwood Solid Waste Management Authority, which began operating a permitted municipal disposal area in 1972. The landfill was closed by the state in 1976. In 1983, the EPA placed the site on the Superfund list. After Ford removed 7,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, the site was delisted in 1994, an action the plaintiffs claim was premature. A statement issued by the plaintiffs' legal team says, "Relying upon reports Ford provided, the EPA declared the site clean. Since then, however, additional toxic waste has been discovered in Upper Ringwood. 13,000 tons of this waste has been removed since 2004. As recently as December 2005, contaminated areas not addressed in previous cleanup efforts were disclosed. Investigative and cleanup efforts continue today." "Waste removed from Upper Ringwood contains levels of toxins so high that hazardous waste facilities have rejected some of it," the plaintiffs claim. In June 2005, then New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell called for a criminal investigation of Ford due to its “pattern of misconduct” and the “direct link between the false and misleading submissions made to federal and state regulators and the persistence of potential risk to human health and the environment.” On January 6, 2006, then New Jersey’s Acting Governor, Richard Codey, called for Upper Ringwood’s relisting as a Superfund site due to Ford’s “stunning failure” to complete a proper clean up, requesting that EPA “hold Ford responsible for its toxic legacy.” The EPA says, "Paint sludge and other industrial waste at the site has been and continues to be addressed through a series of removal actions." "Results of surface water sampling indicate that surface water has not been impacted by site-related contaminants," the EPA said. "Groundwater sampling has shown limited and sporadically elevated levels of some contaminants, including arsenic and lead. Additional groundwater sampling will be performed in conjunction with ongoing activities related to the investigation and removal of paint sludge." The press conference held Thursday in front of a toxic site on Peters Mine Road took place as machines removed toxic material and loaded it into trucks. Ford’s use of the slogan, “Taking Responsibility for a Greener Tomorrow,” has raised eyebrows among residents of Upper Ringwood. “It could only refer to money,” said plaintiff Wayne Mann. Mann is a member of the Ramapough Mountain Tribe living near the site, the historical homeland of the tribe, which is recognized by the state of New Jersey, although not by the federal government. At the press conference, Chief Anthony Van Dunk of the Ramapough Mountain Indian tribe said, "For generations, there hasn't been justice - in education, housing, employment, anything. Maybe this will finally give them the justice they've deserved for so long." -------- ACTIVISTS Athens groups march over detentions Saturday 21 January 2006 Aljazeera (AFP) http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BB015104-4CF8-428C-B4D0-97973E882FDF.htm Several Greek unions and leftist groups have organised a march in Athens to protest against the alleged secret interrogations of Pakistani immigrants in Greece. The alleged detentions followed the July 2005 bomb attacks in London, England. The protest called attention to the claims of 28 Pakistani immigrants who say they were abducted, interrogated and mishandled by unidentified men posing as Greek police. The protesters said in a statement distributed at the demonstration: "We demand punishment for those guilty of the kidnapping and mistreatment of the 28 immigrants by the secret services." At least 12 Pakistanis have so far testified that they were held in one unknown location around the capital for varying periods, and questioned about acquaintances in Britain. Some say they were also beaten in the process. On 11 January, Greece's public order minister denied that his services were involved in illegal interrogations. He admitted that more than 5000 immigrants were monitored after the July attacks in Britain, but in a legal fashion. No links to extremist activities were discovered, he said.