NucNews July 28, 2006 -------- NUCLEAR -------- britain Dounreay plans £100m site to treat radioactive waste JOHN ROSS, Fri 28 Jul 2006 Scotsman http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1094402006 DOUNREAY bosses want to build a £100 million plant to treat liquid and solid radioactive wastes, a legacy of reprocessing work at the nuclear site. Liquids in underground tanks, accounting for almost 80 per cent of radioactive waste at the site, will be solidified in cement and put in steel drums. The Caithness plant will also solidify other liquid waste and store it for up to 100 years, pending a national strategy for long-term storage or disposal of intermediate level waste. It is hoped that building can start in early 2008, with 120 workers employed on construction. The plant is one of three facilities, costing a total of £127 million, for which the UK Atomic Energy Authority is seeking planning permission. An interim store is planned for casks until a decision is made on how they will be finally disposed of, and permission is being sought for an extension to a store for intermediate level waste. Simon Middlemas, Dounreay's acting director, said it was a step forward in the programme to decommission the site by 2033 at a cost of £2.9 billion. -------- depleted uranium Israel: Sullying the Widow C. L. Cook PEJ News July 28, 2006 http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=5157&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 In a scene from one of the inevitable film dramas to come recounting the bestial behaviour of the wars of the early 21st Century, a father and husband, under the boot of leering soldiers in his living room, while his terrified family are lined up against a wall, will be promised; should he not cooperate, once dead his executioners will “enjoy” his widow. A too plausible fiction, given what we know of the burgeoning occupations in the Middle East. Listening to the official Israeli response to criticism of its horrendous criminality in Lebanon and Palestine these past weeks, not culminating, cresting perhaps, with the destruction of four UN observers within their landmark watch post, is nauseatingly analogous to that fiction; a raping of survivors. As prosecutable as the “accidental” crimes admitted are, the denials are worse. There is a pitiful woman in this country. She is the widow of the Canadian soldier killed in Israel’s deliberate attack against the United Nations. There’s a picture of her in the paper today, below the caption: ‘Wife of missing UN observer believes he’s alive in rubble.’ It’s a photograph of an earnest, hopeful, and doomed woman. And Israel would tell her, “It was a regrettable accident.” Israel will also rail for an apology from the Secretary-General of the United Nations for even suggesting the six hour IDF barrage in close proximity to the UN post was deliberate; demand satisfaction and retraction for his allegation the incident was anything but a tragic miscommunication. They’ll contend the bombs and missiles that finished the place off were not smart enough to know better; then blame the dead for existing in the path of their progress. And it’s no better at home for the widow, (and she surely is one now; had her husband survived in the rubble, he can’t have lasted without rescue) where her [sic] Prime Minister Harper agrees with the killers. Further, Harper would point accusing fingers at the dead soldier’s employers at the United Nations, and at the Iranians, and the Syrians, and Hezbollah, and anyone but they that pulled the trigger; much less at those who handed the maniac a loaded gun. But she’s not the only Canadian widow sullied, her's not the only loss rendered irrelevant. Entire families of Canadians, Lebanese/Canadians, too were killed in exactly the same callous manner as the four, unarmed soldiers stationed at that now razed outpost to monitor the peace. Some of these are known, many more are sure to turn up, if only in the paperwork as “missing,” their mouldering bodies buried beneath the rubble of the houses they died in, irrevocably lost. Those widows and widowers, surviving brothers, sisters, friends and relations will hear their [sic] Prime Minister Harper dismiss the murder of their kith and kin as easily as do his American and Israeli confreres. They’ll hear the leader of Canada say he considers the immolation of their loved ones in cars as they fled the onslaught, buried in the fiery ruins of their homes while eating dinner, or cowering for cover described thusly: “Israel’s response, under the circumstances, has been measured.” Measures for Measure Further, they’ll endure not just the degradation of their homeland under bombs and bullets, rockets, chemicals, cluster bombs, ‘Whiskey Pete’, Depleted Uranium, and God knows what else, but also suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous media mendacity; a trumpet’s call is up from Canwest Global, dutifully echoed throughout its underling right wing mediums across the country, to Total War! It's a call for such repugnant horrors to be made of the labours of the nation it requires a demonizing of the Lebanese people whole so that can be done that none would contemplate: Loosing a wrecking madness upon humanity. But there is a more pernicious campaign being waged against the Canadian public by the monstrous monolith masquerading as a free press in this country. Knowing Canadians are not as fully behind Mr. Harper as George W. Bush and his Israeli collaborator Olmert, and kenning the unique place the United Nations Peacekeeping scheme has in the hearts of Canadians, blaming the UN peace mission in Lebanon for the destruction of the Lebanese is a non-starter for the propagandist. Instead, they would have the Lebanese/Canadians trapped in Lebanon beneath the bombs separated, excised, divided, cut from the Canadian mosaic, their citizenship questioned. The logic presumably being, Canadian will care less about them if they believe them not real Canadians. They would have we consider them not fellow citizens; a first step to forgetting they are fellow humans. Behind it all, there is a twisted logic, one elucidated most clearly by fellow Canadian, David Orchard. Orchard writes of Harper’s “justification” for all we’re seeing, and not seeing unfold in Lebanon and Palestine: “if one accepts Mr. Harper’s thesis that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, then a comparison could be made with Britain responding to the capture of two of its soldiers by the IRA in Northern Ireland by reducing Dublin’s airport and the rest of Ireland’s infrastructure to rubble. Who could defend that as a “measured” response?” For too long the world has accepted the systemic racism and brutality in Palestine. For too long the violence and injustice upon which all colonial exploitation depends has been brooked; in far outposts and at home, oppression has enjoyed free rein. Perhaps this oppression, seen personified by Israel in its bare and grotesque reality today in Lebanon and Palestine, by America in Iraq, by Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and all exemplified by the rape of the innocents, we of “the world” can finally agree: It’s past time this stopped. -------- europe Heatwave Gives French Nuclear Sector Cold Sweat Story by Muriel Boselli REUTERS UK: July 28, 2006 http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/37428/story.htm LONDON - A heatwave in Europe has exposed the limits of nuclear technology, France's favourite source of electricity which is touted by many as a solution to combating global warming. France, the world's second largest nuclear generator with a fleet of 58 near-zero emission nuclear reactors, relies on atomic plants for close to 80 percent of its electricity. The heatwave gripping northern Europe for the last two weeks has heightened concerns over security of energy supplies as cooling problems have hit output from reactors sited by rivers. At the same time demand for power to drive air conditioning has surged, a trend that may in future lead to power use in northern Europe peaking in the summer instead of winter. "Because the heat impacts the water temperature, it has an impact on production," a spokeswoman for French power monopoly EDF said. "But it's hard to quantify it as it changes every day," she added. EDF said last week it had to import 2,000 megawatts of extra power -- roughly equivalent to the capacity of a large nuclear station -- to meet surging demand and compensate for lower production as its reactors laboured in the heat. The French company called this month's heatwave "unprecedented" and said that it was ensuring that traditional summer maintenance of nuclear reactors located on the coast had been postponed. "Sea water cools down faster than river water," the EDF spokeswoman said, adding that its river-based Rhone and Garonne were being closely watched. EDF is attempting to avoid a repeat of the 2003 heatwave, when some of its seaside-based reactors had been stopped for maintenance. Fourteen of EDF's 58 reactors are based by the sea and do not suffer from the rise in water temperature that its 44 riverside reactors experience. AIR CONDITONING BOOM Lower output from some reactors because of cooling problems has coincided with surging demand on the back of increased use of air conditioning. "Air conditioning use is increasing considerably especially in shops, and I have no doubt, households will want to have it more and more," Daniel Bois, an analyst at the French political life study centre (CEVIPOF), said. Bois added that the increase in power demand during the summer did not fit with EDF's traditional nuclear maintenance schedule during the hot months. "Habits are changing and I don't have the feeling that EDF is taking all of this into account," he told Reuters. French anti-nuclear association Sortir du Nucleaire said there was a danger that EDF's coastal reactors were being pushed too hard. "There is a temptation for EDF to ignore technical problems in order to maintain production," it said in a report. The French government has approved a request from EDF to allow its nuclear reactors to discharge cooling water at above normal temperatures into rivers. "Global warming has started and weather experts predict unanimously that even if the necessary measures were taken immediately on a world level -- which is unfortunately far from being the case -- the phenomenon would worsen for a few decades before improving," the anti-nuclear association added. Bois said he could not imagine a future without nuclear energy if France wanted to reach the Kyoto targets or exceed them whilst ensuring supply security. "The arrival of wind power in France will not change things much as I can't imagine the renewable power will in the future account for more than 5 or 10 percent of the energy mix," he added. "When nuclear started in France climate change was not an issue," Bois said. ---- Two radioactive devices found in Georgia: IAEA Fri Jul 28, 2006 (Reuters) http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?storyID=2006-07-28T174059Z_01_ANT854063_RTRUKOC_0_US-NUCLEAR-GEORGIA.xml&rpc=81 TBILISI - A team of nuclear inspectors found and isolated two radioactive devices in a mountainous region of ex-Soviet Georgia, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday. A joint team from Georgia's Environment Ministry and the IAEA searching the remote Racha region in north-western Georgia found one of the radioactive sources in a tin of nuts and bolts in a home, close to a family bedroom. Another more powerful source was found in a pile of dirt on the floor of a derelict factory in the village of Iri, where radiation levels were 12 times normal, the IAEA said. "It could have resulted in serious injuries or even death, if someone had picked it up and put it in their pocket for a period of time," Carolyn MacKenzie, a radiation source specialist in the IAEA, said in a statement. Both sources were Caesium 137, a powerful gamma emitter that is often used in industry to check materials for flaws and for measurements. Radioactive materials were used to generate power in remote areas in Soviet times but during the chaos that accompanied the fall of the Soviet Union many devices were abandoned. As many as 300 radioactive sources have been recovered in Georgia since mid-1990s. At least one person has died and many have been injured by radioactive sources. The IAEA said concerns remained that radioactive sources could be used to help make a 'dirty' bomb. "An added impetus to recovery operations is concern that some radioactive sources could be used for radiological dispersal devices if they fell into the hands of terrorists," the IAEA said. ---- Czech bidder on Bulgaria's nuclear plant Belene Skoda Alliance toconsider lower price offer INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE JULY 28, 2006 http://www.interfax.com/5/179181/news.aspx PRAGUE - The Czech Skoda Alliance consortium, one of the two bidders on Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant Belene constructions, may lower the price on its tender bid following negotiations held in Bulgaria Tuesday, Czech engineering firm Skoda JS, which is leading the Skoda Alliance told Interfax Friday. "We have discussed the question of price during our negotiations with the investor, state-owned energy firm NEK, and we have decided to take some time to eventually revalue our offer," Belene Project Bid Manager Roman Zdebor of Skoda JS told Interfax. One day before Tuesday's negotiations with Skoda Alliance in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Energy Ministry Rumen Ovcarov called on both bidders to complete construction of Belene nuclear plant. Due to the EU accession process, Bulgaria is obliged to close down the older blocks of its only nuclear plant, Kozloduj, and bearing this in mind the state decided to complete the constructions of Belene plant, which were suspended with the regime change at the end of the 1990s. The government currently hopes that the Belene facility will have two functioning reactors by 2018, by which time it will be Bulgaria's sole nuclear facility. Estimates put the cost at completing the facility at EUR 4 bln. If Bulgaria does not get better offers, the country will have to reappraise whether it is profitable to finalize the project according to the latest schedule, said Ovacarov. The main issues discussed with the Czech bidders during the meeting were price and time scheduling adjustments," Skoda JS said. "We have again discussed the Skoda Alliance's approach regarding the NEK's demand on shortening of the time schedule and also the optimalization of the price, which is connected with it," said Zdebor. As Zdebor told Intefax before Tuesday's meeting, the Skoda Alliance has decided to accept NEK's demand on shortening the schedule by two years. The Belene contract, which includes completion of construction of the first section of the plant, as well as the construction of the new second block, is worth some EUR 4 bln. The Skoda Alliance is hoping that the Bulgarian government will announce final results by the end of August. "We don't have any clear idea right now, but we estimate that the final decision could be known till the end of August," said Zdebor. The Czech Skoda Alliance, owned by Russian company OMZ, is one of two bidders on the project, with the second bidder being Russian Atomstrojexport supported by French subcontractor Framatome. For further information please contact the reporter at email: barbora.petrova@interfax.cz or by telephone on: (+420) 222 874 440. -------- korea South Korea launches satellite that can spy on North Fri Jul 28, 2006 (Reuters) http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-07-28T143321Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-261430-1.xml&archived=False SEOUL - South Korea sent a satellite into space on Friday primarily for geographical surveys but also for possibly spying on North Korea, which raised regional security concerns by launching missiles earlier this month. The 900-kg Arirang-2 satellite, launched in Russia, can take high-resolution pictures of the earth's surface, a government agency said. Experts said it would be the country's most advanced surveillance satellite. "The high-definition MSC (multi-spectral camera) will be able to give real-time visual data on North Korea's missile launch preparations or military activities, which would be otherwise unavailable," South Korea's Overseas Information Service said. At present, South Korea mostly relies on U.S. spy satellites and planes for aerial reconnaissance of North Korea. North Korea defied international warnings by firing off seven missiles in July, including its long-range Taepodong-2, which destructed after about 40 seconds in the air. The Arirang-2 satellite gives South Korea the ability to identify objects on the ground one metre in diameter, the information service said. The satellite will mostly work on mapping and help search for natural resources. The launch had been planned for several months. The Russian rocket with the satellite blasted off from a launch pad in the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, approximately 800 km northeast of Moscow, the information service said. -------- pakistan China to help Pak build 6 N-power stations 28 Jul, 2006 IANS http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1821176.cms http://www.nerve.in/news:2535009990 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's "China card" with regard to cooperation in nuclear energy worked almost at the same time as the India-US civil nuclear deal was being cleared by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. China announced that it would help Pakistan build six 300-megawatt nuclear power stations, news agencies reported from Beijing quoting a story published in China Daily on Thursday. The deal had apparently been finalised when President Pervez Musharraf met the Chinese leaders last month, even as Pakistan continued to press the US for an equal treatment with India on the nuclear energy issue. This is a part of ongoing cooperation between the two countries to develop their energy resources. China now has 11 nuclear power stations with a total capacity of 8,700 megawatts, The News reported. According to a national plan provided in 2004, China will build 40 more nuclear power units by 2020 to meet its growing energy requirements, the report from Beijing said. -------- russia The Viability Of The Russian ICBM Stockpile It was emphasized that it would take only $100,000 to convert the RS-20, developed at the Ukrainian Yuzhnoye design bureau, into a first-class launch vehicle. by Andrei Kislyakov UPI Outside View Commentator Moscow (UPI) Jul 28, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/reports/The_Viability_Of_The_Russian_ICBM_Stockpile_999.html Anything more sophisticated than a steel ingot is liable to break. This maxim, of course, applies to rockets. Even so, the setback suffered on the night of July 26 by a Russian RS-20 Voyevoda (SS-18 Satan) intercontinental ballistic missile converted into a Dnepr launch vehicle makes one question the wisdom of converting ICBMs, at least today. The rocket, launched at midnight, had not flown more than two minutes when the first-stage engine cut out and the vehicle crashed about 190 kilometers (120 miles) from the Baikonur space center, destroying 18 small satellites developed by students from Russia, the United States and Italy, and specialists from Belarus and Colombia. In addition to representatives of university student centers, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus and Russian Space Center head Anatoly Perminov watched the launch. The idea of converting strategic missiles became a reality in 1993 when the Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (or START-II) was signed, obliging Russia to remove most of its ground-based missiles from operational status, notably RS-20s, ICBMs with unique combat characteristics. The scheme seemed simple and logical. Instead of a costly disposal program, inevitably involving American money, the junk could be scrapped by simply "firing" the missiles, with a triple benefit: complying with the treaty, boosting the country's prestige, and making money on commercial launches. It was emphasized that it would take only $100,000 to convert the RS-20, developed at the Ukrainian Yuzhnoye design bureau, into a first-class launch vehicle. But the fast and easy wizardry seen in Charles Perrault's Cinderella does not, by definition, work with rockets. The first premise is that any time something is remade to conform to new standards and objectives, while at the same time maintaining high quality, it is always more costly than developing and manufacturing a new prototype. This is a time-tested rule that applies to all human endeavors. Any talk of high quality or reliability in the Dnepr case at a price of only $100,000 was a lot of hot air. It is not yet time to go into technical details except perhaps by making one general remark. However fantastic a product's safety, dependability or longevity, a quarter-century of operational duty cannot pass without leaving its impact. A special commission will hopefully describe the particulars of the accident. This raises another question: Why should we have such a launch vehicle? As the Russian Space Agency boldly claims, the Dnepr is capable of placing a payload of up to 3.7 tons in low orbits of 300 to 900 kilometers (186 to 560 miles). In passing it may be observed that a multiple firing of the third-stage engine is required to put spacecraft into an orbit of 700 to 1,200 kilometers (435 to 745 miles). Despite my efforts, I could find no mention of the required refurbishment of the Satan's third stage. But let us return to our "why." Indeed, in the mid-1990s, with mobile communications making whirlwind progress, specialists in Europe and America justly believed that a very large number of low-orbit satellites would be needed covering a considerable area. So a niche for conversion rockets existed, but fate decreed otherwise. Practically all programs using low-orbit satellites for mobile purposes were scrapped in favor of ground facilities. However, any day now we will certainly see other ambitious programs for compact-sized craft. But it is cheaper and more reliable to develop a new launch vehicle, particularly since Russia is a leader in this field. At the moment, though, low-orbit commercial launches fetch low profits. General interest focuses on the geostationary orbit (36,000 kilometers, or 22,370 miles) where large space communications systems can be placed. This is why the Khrunichev center and NPOmash have come up with a commercial proposal to use another converted missile, the RS-18 Rokot (SS-19 Stiletto), to place small payloads into a stationary orbit. Specialists say such satellites will perform as well as large ones. But most significantly of all, the two centers are offering a package service. It includes manufacturing a satellite with an original inert-gas-burning propulsion unit, converting an army missile into a launch vehicle, and orbiting the satellite -- operations a customer today can obtain only from different companies, often in different countries. The promoters of the idea also intend to afford the client the use of both ground-control facilities and equipment for receiving, processing and sending information to the end user. Now there's a real conversion for you. (Andrei Kislyakov is a political commentator for RIA Novosti.) -------- u.s. nuc facilities Think new reactors can be built economically? Think again; and new factsheets on NIRS website From: "Michael Mariotte" Date: Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:39 pm NUCLEAR INFORMATION AND RESOURCE SERVICE 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 340, Takoma Park, MD 20912 301-270-NIRS (301-270-6477); Fax: 301-270-4291 nirsnet@nirs.org; www.nirs.org THINK NEW ATOMIC REACTORS CAN BE BUILT CHEAPLY AND ON-TIME? THINK AGAIN! The Bush Administration and nuclear power industry have asserted that new nuclear reactors-unlike the current generation--would be built at competitive prices and on schedule. The Nuclear Energy Institute, for example, has made repeated claims that new power reactors can be built for about $1,500-$2,000/kw.[1] This means a standard 1,000 MW reactor could be built for about $1.5-$2.0 billion; a large 1,500 MW reactor would be expected to cost about $2-$2.25 billion. Current real-world experience shows that these claims are just pipedreams. *On July 11, 2006, the Finnish government reported that the construction schedule for its new EPR (European Pressurized Reactor) already has slipped by a full 12 months-and construction of this reactor began only 15 months ago, in April 2005![2] Cost for this 1600 MW reactor is estimated to be three billion Euros, or about $3.7 Billion dollars, and that is with extremely favorable loan interest rates that wouldn't be available to private US utilities. Several US utilities, such as Constellation Energy, have expressed interest in the EPR design. *In June 2006, Toshiba purchased the world's largest manufacturer of atomic reactors: Westinghouse. The company heralded the purchase by asserting that Westinghouse could expect 20 or more new reactor orders in the next several years. Industry analysts quoted by Reuters said each reactor order would be worth $2.6 Billion to Toshiba, a price already above the NEI's stated cost goal.[3] Since Toshiba only supplies the reactors and doesn't perform the construction, nor much of the non-nuclear side of the plant, actual prices for a fully-constructed Westinghouse reactor can be expected to reach at least the range of the EPR, and probably even higher. On the other hand, the cost of the EPR can be expected to increase as further construction delays are experienced. In short, anyone thinking a new generation of atomic power reactors can be built at competitive prices should think again-and think hard. One more quick news item: in July 2006, it was reported that uranium prices have risen some 600% over the past five years: from $7.25/pound in January 2001 to $45.50/pound in June 2006. Continued price rises would threaten nuclear power's traditional operating cost advantage over some other fuel sources (coal, gas), making nuclear's economics outlook even bleaker. Michael Mariotte Executive Director July 28, 2006 New fact sheets on NIRS website: View them and use them! Are Federal Permissible Standards for Tritium Too Permissive? http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/tritiumnaturalbackground.pdf New NIRS fact sheet http://www.nirs.org/support/pdf.htm?file=/factsheets/tritiumnaturalbackground.pdf Why New Nukes are Risky. http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/whynewnukesareriskyfcts.pdf Coalition briefing paper on the economic risks of nuclear power, presented to Wall Street analysts. http://www.nirs.org/support/pdf.htm?file=/factsheets/whynewnukesareriskyfcts.pdf Nuclear Power and Climate: Why Nukes Can't Save the Planet http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/nukesclimatefact606.pdf NIRS factsheet http://www.nirs.org/support/pdf.htm?file=/factsheets/nukesclimatefact606.pdf And don't forget to send this link to all of your friends/work colleagues/church groups/college classmates and everyone you meet to encourage them to sign the Petition for A Sustainable Energy Future! http://www.nirs.org/petition/index.php?r=ft ________________________________ [1] For example, see Nuclear Energy Institute Wall Street Briefing, "A Solid Business Platform for Future Growth," February 2, 2006, http://www.nei.org/documents/Wall_Street_Briefing_2-2-06.pdf "To be conservative, the NEI financial analysis assumes a capital cost of approximately $2,000 per kilowatt for the first few plants built, declining to approximately $1,500 per kilowatt for the later plants." [2] "Finland's 5th Nuclear Reactor Delayed," Tuesday July 11, 2006, by Matti Huuhtanen, Associated Press [3] "Toshiba sees US nuke plant orders for Westinghouse," Tuesday, June 27, 2006, Reuters -------- nevada New Yucca Mountain center opens By PHILLIP GOMEZ Jul. 28, 2006 PVT http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2006/Jul-28-Fri-2006/news/8749317.html PHILLIP GOMEZ / PVT - The interior of the new Yucca Mountain Information Center is designed to look and feel like the inside of a Yucca tunnel, with exhibits and interactive multi-media stations to explain how it all would work. Despite political setbacks in the drive to see Yucca Mountain become a nuclear storage reality, the U.S. Department of Energy's principal contractor, Bechtel Science Applications International Corp., has moved ahead on the public relations front by opening a new 5,000-square-foot information center in Pahrump across the street from the post office. The information center opens to the public on Monday with hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Thursday saw a special open house for invited VIPs -- representatives of the stakeholder counties most affected by Yucca Mountain and invested in the federal Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, which would oversee waste-handling and transport operations. The new facility replaces the old information center in the plaza at the Pahrump Station on Postal Drive, just down the street. That was only 600 square feet and saw about 300 visitors per year, serving as the staging area for bus tours to Yucca Mountain in the fall and spring seasons. The bus tours will continue, says facility manager Claire Sinclair, and now visitors in Pahrump will be offered a more enriching experience learning about the government project, its history and the natural history of the geographic area east of Beatty. Moreover, the new building houses 2,500 square feet of office space for 16 staffers and a 35-person-capacity conference room. "We're working in a very positive direction," says Sinclair. "This makes sense that the county most affected by Yucca Mountain has a good resource for people to find out about the project. It certainly shows our commitment to Nye County by putting together a facility like this and preparing for additional staff to be employed in Pahrump." Staff positions will be advertised when Bechtel determines the specific skills needed by the people to be hired, Sinclair says. Department of Energy officials recently announced plans to upgrade the staging area at the repository site itself, 54 miles north of Pahrump. DOE plans to spend $100 million over the next several years to construct and improve 33 miles of roads, install more than 20 miles of power lines and replace existing facilities with six new buildings, according to a new 70-page environmental assessment. The buildings are to include a 43,000-square-foot operations center, a 10,000-square-foot fire station and a 43,000-square-foot maintenance and repair shop. Back in Pahrump, Sinclair says, "I'm hoping this (new Pahrump facility) will be the base for our outreach programs." She says Bechtel has a 25-foot trailer equipped with science and technology displays explaining Yucca Mountain, its geology, hydrology and safety features, which she intends to use for field trips to local schools. As for the new bricks-and-mortar building, brand-new exhibits tell the story of the arid land on the edge of the Nellis Air Force Range from prehistoric times to 1997, when DOE's giant boring machine cut its way under and through Yucca Mountain in construction of the main tunnel. A 12-minute film presents an overview history of the site's selection and development. Exhibits placed in a tunnel-like interior design continue the story with DOE's plans for transportation of the nuclear waste to the site and an explanation of the repository's operations. Like more sophisticated museums devoted to an area's human and natural history, Indian artifacts are on display, along with specimens of local flora, broadening the Yucca Mountain story for visitor interest. Other exhibits present more technical information in more easily grasped, three-dimensional forms, explaining how the facilities for nuclear waste storage would be designed and appear upon completion. The museum is intended to be self-guided, but staff will be available to answer visitors' questions, Sinclair says. One special exhibit, a business person's contact station, permits on-line access to DOE regarding vendor applications and government regulations for doing business with Yucca Mountain. Other Yucca Mountain information centers exist in Las Vegas and in Beatty, but Pahrump's is the first new center to be built in over a decade, Sinclair says. "We're excited for people to come and visit us," she says. "There's no charge to come. We're looking forward to serving the community." -------- new hampshire Nuke plant facing fine of $65K By Shir Haberman shaberman@seacoastonline.com July 28, 2006 Seacoast Online http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/hampton/07282006/nhnews-h-seabrook.fine0728.html SEABROOK -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a $65,000 fine against the owner of the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant, FPL Energy Seabrook LLC, for a violation related to security requirements at power plant. "The action was necessary to emphasize the importance of oversight and corporate support of the installation and testing of equipment, as well as maintaining complete and accurate records of such testing," said Samuel J. Collins, NRC Region I administrator. According to the NRC, the issues were corrected immediately after they were discovered and the nuclear plant remains secure. In spring 2005, the NRC dispatched a special inspection team to Seabrook after a routine security inspection found issues at the site in May. This enforcement action stems from those inspections and additional NRC follow-up. Inspectors found a security fence intended to prevent outside threats to Seabrook Station was inoperable, according to an internal plant document obtained by the Portsmouth Herald, sister publication of the Hampton Union, and reported at that time. "Security initiated (a) report that on May 5, several Perimeter Intrusion Detection System (PIDS) zones failed challenge testing during a regional NRC inspection and were declared inoperable," the internal document indicated. "Compensatory measures were implemented immediately following the determination that the zones were inoperable." "At no time have we lost our ability to protect public health and safety," said Alan Griffith, spokesman for the Seabrook plant, at the time in response to the Herald inquiries. The fence was installed by a subcontracted engineering firm on Oct. 29, 2004. There were indications the fence had never operated as intended. The requirement to upgrade Seabrook Station's fence came from NRC mandates stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. In response to the failure of the security component, Seabrook Station launched an investigation. Officials identified two basic causes of the failure, according to the internal documents. The first was that "the Perimeter Intrusion Detection System design was inadequate," and the second was that "the system testing performed to commission the system, and subsequent tests to ensure operability, were deficient, which resulted in failure to identify the inadequate design," the documents indicated. Both design of the system and testing procedures did not adhere to NRC guidelines, the internal report said. The report also found two other factors that contributed to the system's failure. The first was that Seabrook Station's owner's review and approval of the system vendor, Proto-Power, "lacked vigor." In fact, the report states that, when FPL Energy's design engineer was questioned about the failure, he stated "neither the vendor manual nor (NRC regulations) were utilized." The other contributing factor was that the nuclear plant suffered from "inadequate security organizational effectiveness," the report indicated. There was "inadequate monitoring of system performance," "no evidence of management oversight of system testing," and "security human performance observations are performed almost exclusively by Wackenhut personnel and are not self-critical." Wackenhut is the security company hired by Seabrook Station to protect the plant. While never confirming its details, Griffin did not dispute that the report obtained by the Portsmouth Herald was accurate. Immediately upon identification of the issues, FPL took actions to address them. In announcing the fine, the NRC said its inspectors have reviewed the company's corrective actions and found them to be in compliance with agency security requirements. The NRC has cited the company for the failure to maintain complete and accurate records of test results and proposed the $65,000 fine. A second violation that occurred, in part because of inadequate management oversight, has been characterized by the NRC's Reactor Oversight Process as low to moderate security significance. There was no additional fine associated with this violation. The company has 30 days from receipt of the notice of violation to either pay the civil penalty or to protest it, in whole or in part. The NRC routinely conducts inspections of security at the nation's nuclear power plants. However, details of those inspections are not publicly available because certain security information could be useful to an adversary. ---- NRC imposes $65,000 fine on Seabrook power station By JERRY MILLER NH Union Leader Correspondent Friday, Jul. 28, 2006 http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=NRC+imposes+%2465%2c000+fine+on+Seabrook+power+station&articleId=74388b70-c05d-4c8e-bb9d-b6a7b725e2c6 Seabrook – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has imposed a $65,000 fine on FLP Energy Seabrook Station for a violation related to security requirements at the only nuclear power plant in the state. According to a statement issued yesterday by the NRC's regional office in King of Prussia, Pa., the issues were immediately corrected and the plant remains secure. In its statement, the NRC said the agency dispatched a special inspection team to Seabrook in late spring 2005 after a routine security inspection found issues at the site that May. The company was cited for failing to maintain complete and accurate records of test results. A second violation occurred, in part, due to inadequate management oversight, characterized by the NRC as being of "low to moderate" security significance. No additional fine was imposed. NRC inspectors have reviewed the company's corrective actions and found them to be in compliance with security requirements. The company has 30 days to either pay the penalty or protest it. -------- pennsylvania Limerick board OKs nuclear-storage plan By Sandy Bauers Fri, Jul. 28, 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/15142014.htm?source=rss&channel=inquirer_local In voting to approve little more than a 56,000-square-foot concrete pad and a small building at the Limerick nuclear power plant, the Limerick Township supervisors last night removed the last township obstacle to building a new storage facility for highly radioactive spent fuel. The board unanimously approved the building plan, with the contingency that the plant's owner, Exelon Corp., provide extra hazardous-materials training and radiation-protection kits and other equipment for the two fire companies that serve the area. The pad will provide the foundation for concrete "casks," each slightly larger than a one-car garage, to hold steel canisters containing spent fuel. Supervisor Chairman David Kane said, however, that concerns about the plant and the fuel-storage plan remained, even though that was out of the township's purview. Kane reiterated that the township has "no jurisdiction over use or safety" at the plant; that is up to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, he said. But he described township correspondence with federal elected officials and said it would continue. "Let's not let it end here. Let's not let the safety and our concerns end in two meetings," Kane said, referring to the two supervisors' meetings at which the plans were discussed. "We will continue to fight for whatever benefits we can," he said, "but we are limited." Longtime township resident Bill Miller asked what would happen if the township voted against the building plan. "It would be immediately overturned by the Court of Common Pleas," Kane said. "We have looked at everything we can do here. What we're not going to do is waste taxpayer money or stop the inevitable." Resident Cookie Shearer complained that more people didn't show up to object because "they feel like they have no recourse... . They will fight against a supermarket or a store, but they won't come out and comment on nuclear waste in their backyard." Limerick, like many other nuclear power plants in the United States, is running out of space for its spent fuel rods, about a third of which are replaced in each reactor every year. The spent rods - still highly radioactive for thousands of years - go into racks in a water-filled pool next to each reactor for cooling. But even though Limerick has reconfigured its racks to hold more spent fuel, officials there say the pools will be full in about three years. At one time, nuclear facilities planned to transport spent fuel to the proposed national storage site at Yucca Mountain, Nev. But with that stalled - the latest, most optimistic estimate is that it could open in 2017 - facilities have to find other options for spent fuel. So, like more than half of the nation's 65 commercial nuclear power sites, Exelon decided to construct a "dry cask" system. Critics worry about radiation leaks and the potential for a terrorist attack damaging a cask and releasing a cloud of radioactivity. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and proponents of dry-cask storage say the system is safe. -------- tennessee TVA to cut electric rates Friday, Jul 28, 2006 Associated Press http://www.bristolnews.com/tristate/tri/news.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2006-07-28-0031.html KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - TVA is reducing power rates. The federal utility's board met in Knoxville today and voted to reduce the wholesale cost of electricity by four and a half percent. The cut comes less than six months after TVA raised rates by nearly ten percent in April -- the first mid-year hike in a quarter-century. The utility had begun its fiscal year in October by raising rates seven and a half percent. Increases are traditionally passed on to residential and business customers by the local power distributors. T-V-A estimates today's reduction will save distributors 400 million dollars. The rate proposal was contained in a nine-point-three billion dollar fiscal 2007 budget approved by the agency's board of directors. The proposal also contains 20 million dollars for a detailed engineering study on the feasibility of completing a second nuclear reactor at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City (Tennessee.) The Tennessee Valley Authority is the nation's largest public utility. Although it is a federal corporation, TVA receives no federal funding. The agency's power program is financed exclusively by revenues from electric sales to 158 distributors in Tennessee and six surrounding states. -------- MILITARY -------- arms Moscow snubs US to sell arms to Venezuela · Military planes and attack helicopters in £1.6bn deal · Outspoken Chávez hints at nuclear ambitions Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow Friday July 28, 2006 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,,1832194,00.html Russia signed a £1.6bn arms deal with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela yesterday, risking a confrontation with the US, which has imposed an arms embargo on the South American country. The outspoken Venezuelan president, who has claimed that America wants to assassinate him and pledged cheap heating fuel for London's poor, also told reporters in Moscow that his country could develop its own nuclear programme. "Maybe some day we will start using nuclear energy," he said, according to Interfax. He did not specify when or how he might obtain nuclear power, but his ambitions will rile a Bush administration already deeply concerned by Iran's nuclear programme. Moscow has agreed to build nuclear power plants for Tehran, despite Washington's claim that the scheme is a front for a nuclear weapons programme. After Mr Chávez's meeting with Vladimir Putin, Russia's state arms exporter Rosobornexport said it would sell 24 military planes and 53 attack helicopters to the south American state in one of a series of deals between the countries worth an estimated total of £1.6bn. Moscow has recently stepped up arms sales to Venezuela, saying last month that it would license the AK47 rifle for production in Caracas. After their meeting yesterday Mr Chávez told Mr Putin: "Russia has stretched out its hand to us in the face of international pressure, and even an embargo that was to be imposed on us. It gives our soldiers a special spirit of firmness when we hand them Kalashnikov rifles that replace old 1940s guns." He said that when two Russian-made Sukhoi jets flew over their independence day parade on July 5, "the entire people had a sense of gratitude," In an attempt to soften the blow of such deals for Washington, Mr Putin said that cooperation between Moscow and Caracas "is not directed against other states", but added: "Russia will be a secure partner for Venezuela." He said that Russian investment into Venezuela could reach billions of dollars, while expressing admiration for the country's economic growth rate of 8%. The two men also announced that the Russian oil firm Lukoil would build a gas pipeline in Venezuela's south and drill for oil near the Orinoco river. Mr Chávez again launched a vitriolic attack on the United States. "After almost 200 years, we can say that the United States was designed to fill the entire world with poverty as if in the name of freedom," he said according to Interfax. "The United States' empire is the greatest threat which exists in the world today. This is a senseless, blind and dumb giant, which does not know the world, does not know human rights, and does not know anything about humanity, culture, conscience, or consciousness." He said the "winds of war" were blowing in the Middle East and were a "product of hegemony and imperialistic aspirations, which reveal Washington's bid for power over the whole planet". He added that during a recent visit to Belarus, Russia's neighbour whose leader was dubbed Europe's last dictator by Washington, he had seen a monument to Lenin. The leftwing leader said: "He will always be in our heart and our ideas." On Wednesday President Chávez travelled to Izhevsk where he met Mikhail Kalashnikov, in the wake of the deal to buy 100,000 rifles invented by the weapons designer. -------- israel / palestine Hezbollah fires new type of missile at Israel By Agence France Presse (AFP) Friday, July 28, 2006 by Jean-Luc Renaudie http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=74335 JERUSALEM, July 28, 2006 (AFP) - Hezbollah fired a new type of missile at Israel Friday, police said, in one of its deepest strikes onto Israeli territory on the 17th day of the Lebanon crisis. "At least one missile of unknown type carrying around 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of explosives hit the town of Afula," police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told AFP. Five explosive devices in all had landed around Afula, which lies nearly 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Israel's border with Lebanon, without causing any casualties or damage, police said. Police said the mysterious missile was not the Iranian-made Zelsal, as reported earlier in the Israeli media. "Police sappers who analyzed the missile confirmed that it was not the Iranian Zelsal" as reported earlier by Israel's Channel 10, Rosenfeld said. In Beirut, Shiite militant group Hezbollah said its guerrillas had fired for the first time a salvo of what it called "Khaibar I" missiles at Afula. "The Islamic Resistance fired at 3:00 pm (1200 GMT) a salvo of Khaibar I missiles on the Zionist region of Afula, beyond Haifa," the Hezbollah statement said. On Wednesday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed that his guerrillas would fire rockets at Israel beyond the northern city of Haifa. Until Friday Hezbollah had been using mostly shorter-range Katyusha rockets to attack Israel. The assault on Afula came on the same day that the Israeli army said it would deploy Patriot anti-missile batteries near Tel Aviv -- Israel's biggest city -- in case Hezbollah starts using long-range missiles. The 17 days of massive Israeli strikes on Hezbollah have failed to stem the Shiite militant group from launching rockets onto Israeli territory, with more than 100 rockets landing across Israel on Friday alone, seriously wounding three people. Hezbollah has fired more than 1,500 rockets at Israel since July 12, when its guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a deadly cross-border raid that sparked the Jewish state's offensive on Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has been bombarded repeatedly by Katyusha rockets. Eighteen civilians have been killed in the attacks and more than 300 wounded. Hezbollah likely has a total of 10,000 to 15,000 missiles provided by Syria and Iran, the London specialist magazine Jane's Defence Weekly reported earlier this month, saying the figures were only an estimate. They include the Iranian-made Fajr-5 with a range of some 75 kilometres enabling it to reach the Israeli port of Haifa, and the Zelsal-1 with an estimated 150-kilometre range, which meant it could hit Tel Aviv. -AFP ---- Hezbollah fires 100 rockets at Israel on 17th day of crisis JERUSALEM, July 28, 2006 (AFP) http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=74335 More than 100 rockets fired from southern Lebanon landed across northern Israel on Friday, seriously wounding three people and damaging buildings, the army said. They landed on a number of districts including the towns of Kyriat Shmona, Safed, and Tiberias. A building belonging to Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, was hit in the region of Safed, the army said. A hospital in the coastal resort of Nahariya was also hit, with no casualties immediately reported. The rockets were the latest salvos in a barrage of about 1,500 missiles fired by Hezbollah militants since cross-border violence flared on July 12. Eighteen civilians have been killed in the attacks and more than 300 wounded. Hezbollah fired a new type of missile at Israel on Friday, in one of its deepest strikes onto Israeli territory on the 17th day of the Lebanon crisis. The rocket, which police said was of an "unknown type," landed along with four other missiles in Afula, which lies about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the Lebanese border. In Beirut, the Shiite militant group said that its guerrillas had fired for the first time a salvo of Khaibar I missiles at Afula. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday that his guerrillas would fire rockets at Israel beyond the northern city of Haifa. Until Friday Hezbollah had been using shorter-range Katyusha rockets to attack Israel. The attack on Afula came on the same day that the Israeli army said it would deploy Patriot anti-missile batteries near Tel Aviv -- Israel's biggest city -- in case Hezbollah starts using long-range missiles.- -------- mideast Americans Refuse U.S. Troops in Mid-East War July 28, 2006 Angus Reid http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/12689 Very few adults in the United States think their country’s military should become involved in the current Middle East conflict, according to a poll by SurveyUSA. 87 per cent of respondents believe the U.S. military should stay out of the war, up three points since mid-July. On Jul. 12, Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two more in a cross-border attack. The Israeli armed forces launched air strikes inside Lebanese territory to fight Hezbollah, targeting the country’s infrastructure and its airport. Hezbollah has retaliated by firing rockets into several Israeli towns. The Lebanese Internal Security Forces have reported 401 civilians killed and at least 1,400 civilians injured. According to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), 50 Israelis—19 civilians and 31 soldiers—have died during the conflict. Yesterday, U.S. president George W. Bush discussed his country’s participation in the process, saying, "What you’re watching is American policy aiming to address the root cause and aiming to strengthen Lebanese democracy, so that we can have peace. I view this as a clash of forms of government. I see people who can’t stand the thought of democracy taking hold in the Middle East. And as democracy begins to advance, they use terrorist tactics to stop it." 56 per cent of respondents believe U.S. diplomats should not attempt to negotiate a ceasefire. Polling Data Should the United States military get involved? Or should the United States military stay out of it? Jul. 25 Jul. 16 Jul. 13 Get involved 9% 12% 11% Stay out of it 87% 84% 84% Not sure 5% 4% 5% Should United States diplomats attempt to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and its neighbours? Or should the United States stay out of it? Jul. 25 Jul. 16 Jul. 13 Stay out of it 56% 52% 55% Attempt to negotiate a ceasefire 40% 44% 41% Not sure 5% 4% 4% Source: SurveyUSA Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,200 American adults, conducted on Jul. 25, 2006. Margin of error is 2.9 per cent. -------- prisoners of war U.S. should immediately close any secret detention facilities, U.N. says 7/28/2006 (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-28-UN_x.htm http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-28-un-prisons_x.htm GENEVA — A U.N. rights panel Friday demanded the immediate closure of any secret U.S. detention facilities and criticized Washington on a range of other issues, calling for a moratorium on capital punishment and improved treatment of poor and black citizens following Hurricane Katrina. Officials in Washington said the U.N. Human Rights Committee was out of bounds in examining U.S. practices outside the United States, but said they would consider its recommendations. "The committee is concerned by credible and uncontested information that the state party has seen fit to engage in the practice of detaining people secretly and in secret places for months and years on end," according to the 12-page report by the committee, which held a two-day hearing last week on U.S. compliance to a major human rights treaty. "Our initial reaction is disappointment," said State Department official Matthew Waxman, who led a U.S. delegation to the hearing. He said the panel appeared to ignore much of the American testimony. The 18 independent experts on the committee, which examines on a rotating basis the record of all 156 signatories to the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said U.S. practices violate the rights of detainees and their families. The United States "should only detain persons in places in which they can enjoy the full protection of the law," the report said. "It should also grant prompt access by the International Committee of the Red Cross to any person detained in connection with an armed conflict." In a conference call from Washington, U.S. officials refused to confirm or deny reports that there have been secret detention centers in Europe and elsewhere. The International Committee of the Red Cross is supposed to have access to all prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. It says it knows of people detained by the United States whom they have not found in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sandra Hodgkinson, another State Department official, said the Red Cross "does have access to various battlefield locations, not just in Guantanamo Bay, to meet with prisoners and detainees. "We take very seriously their role in applicable locations and we will continue to do that," Hodgkinson said. Waxman denied allegations that the United States mishandles terror suspects. "Any idea that any United States or other detention operations or other activities in the war on terrorism are beyond the law is simply false." The United States maintains the treaty applies only to its national territory and not the U.S. military or its installations abroad, which are governed by other domestic and international laws. "Despite this clear limitation of its mandate, the committee has made at least six separate recommendations that concern U.S. activities outside the territorial United States," U.S. State Department legal counsel John B. Bellinger III said. On U.S. domestic issues, the committee said: • The United States should adopt a moratorium on executions on grounds that capital punishment appears to be disproportionately imposed on minority groups and poor people. • "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it (the United States) should increase its efforts to ensure that the rights of poor people and in particular African-Americans are fully taken into consideration in the reconstruction plans with regard to access to housing, education and health care." • The United States should give residents of Washington, D.C. the same voting rights as other Americans, allowing them to elect representatives with full voting powers to the Senate and House of Representatives. "We're really encouraged and satisfied by the committee's bold recommendations," said Jamil Dakwar of the American Civil Liberties Union. "We're hoping that this will resonate in Washington." Criticism by the panel brings no penalty beyond international scrutiny. The experts, many of them law professors or jurists in their home countries, are not paid for their committee service but their expenses are covered for meetings in Geneva and New York. The U.S. member of the panel, Ruth Wedgwood, by tradition does not participate in the review of her own country. The panel also includes members from Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. -------- un Bush, Blair back UN force for Lebanon Tony Blair and George Bush did not call for a ceasefire Friday 28 July 2006, 20:32 Makka Time, 17:32 GMT http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CA579D64-CD66-46D5-A730-9912E800E5BE.htm The US president and British prime minister have agreed to send a UN multinational force to support the Lebanese government. George Bush and Tony Blair made the announcement after meeting to discuss the crisis in the Middle East in Washington on Friday. "We agree that a multinational force must be dispatched to Lebanon quickly to augment the Lebanese army as it moves to the south of that country. An effective multinational force will help speed delivery of humanitarian relief," Bush said. Blair said world powers would meet at the UN on Monday to discuss the possible deployment of a UN "stabilisation force" for Lebanon. Bush said Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, would return to the Middle East on Saturday to hammer out with Israel and Lebanon a new UN resolution supporting the force. "Her instructions are to work with Israel and Lebanon to come up with an acceptable UN Security Council resolution that we can table next week," Bush said. Blair said it was important not only to get a cessation of violence but to use the opportunity to set out and achieve a "different strategic direction for the whole of that region". The British prime minister also warned both Syria and Iran that they should participate as responsible members of the international community "or face the risk of increasing confrontation". The Lebanese authorities say up to 600 civilians have been killed during the 17-day Israeli onslaught. -------- us US in quiet U-turn on Iraq troop numbers By Edward Luce and Caroline Daniel in Washington Published: July 28 2006 Financial Times http://www.ft.com/cms/s/d236d48c-1e63-11db-9877-0000779e2340.html The US administration has quietly reversed its goal from whittling down troop numbers in Iraq before the mid-term congressional elections in November. A Pentagon spokesman on Friday confirmed that US troop levels in Iraq rose to 132,000 during the past week – the highest since late May – from 127,000 at the start of the week. The spokesman said troop numbers often fluctuated and "there might be temporary spikes during periods of troop rotation". ---- U.S. Army may get $10B equipment boost Jul. 28, 2006 Washington Times http://washtimes.com/upi/20060728-110625-5032r.htm Congress may give the U.S. Army and Marines $10 billion extra to replace and repair equipment used in America's wars. U.S. House of Representatives appropriators want to add at least $10 billion to the supplemental bridge fund for military operations contained in the fiscal 2007 Defense spending bill that the House passed in June, CongressDaily reported Thursday. House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman C.W. "Bill" Young, R-Fla., and ranking member Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., both said Wednesday that the military's ground forces needed billions of dollars guaranteed by Oct. 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year, to repair and replace equipment destroyed or damaged in Iraq and Afghanistan. "This is a serious problem and this is not something you want to put off," Young said. "It doesn't need to wait until next year to get fixed." U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker has said repeatedly that the Army needs $17.1 billion in fiscal 2007 to "reset" or restore the service's equipment stocks. The Marine Corps has estimated it will have an equipment bill next year that could soar as high as $11.9 billion, though Young estimated that number to be between $2 billion and $5 billion, CongressDaily said. Schoomaker has lamented the slow-moving pace of enacting wartime supplemental spending bills, which he says have led to delays in depot work for much-needed ground equipment. The base fiscal 2007 Defense spending bill and the accompanying bridge fund now set aside $6 billion to reset Army equipment, and a lesser amount for the Marines. Army leaders had hoped to have around $12 billion approved for their equipment needs by the beginning of the fiscal year, the report said. -------- POLICE / PRISONERS / COURTS / JUSTICE -------- prisons / prisoners Italy to let 12,000 out of prison to combat overcrowding Barbara McMahon in Rome Friday July 28, 2006 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,,1832086,00.html Italian MPs yesterday voted in favour of cutting the sentences of thousands of prisoners in an attempt to ease overcrowding. The measure would take three years off prison terms for crimes committed before May 2 this year, freeing an estimated 12,000 inmates. The bill was passed by more than two-thirds of MPs after Forza Italia, the opposition party headed by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, agreed to support it because it includes pardons for white-collar criminals. It still needs senate approval. Opponents included former anti-corruption prosecutor and infrastructure minister Antonio di Pietro, head of the small Italy of Values party. He said it would be demoralising for prosecutors in corruption cases if it included those found guilty of financial crimes. He claimed the bill could help Mr Berlusconi, who is to stand trial for alleged fraud at his TV network Mediaset, as well as his former lawyer Cesare Previti, who is under house arrest after being convicted of bribing a judge. The Northern League and the National Alliance, part of Mr Berlusconi's coalition, opposed the bill, saying it would free hundreds of criminals to commit more crimes. The justice minister, Clemente Mastella, said the pardon would help improve jail conditions and promised that people convicted of serious crimes such as Mafia membership, terrorism, paedophilia and human trafficking would not be included. Italy's 205 jails hold 61,400 prisoners but their official capacity is 41,730. -------- ENERGY -------- alternative energy Cape Cod Wind Power Backers Confident of U.S. Approval July 28, 2006 — By David Ortiz, Reuters http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=10955 DARTMOUTH, Mass. — Backers of a plan to build the first large U.S. offshore wind-power farm said Thursday they were confident the project would clear a regulatory review after being nearly derailed in Washington. A public comment period ends Friday for the plan by Cape Wind Associates LLC, a privately funded Boston energy company, to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound within view of the wealthy Cape Cod resort region of Massachusetts. It was revived after U.S. Senate and House leaders agreed last month to remove provisions in a bill that would have empowered Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to block the $900 million project. "There were those who assumed that Cape Wind was dead," project spokesman Mark Rodgers said in a telephone interview. "We're certainly gratified with the swell of support from around the country that ultimately succeeded in changing the language." Cape Wind Associates is working with investment bank Lehman Brothers to secure financing, Rodgers said, adding that he was confident the project would clear a government regulatory review which is expected to decide on the project in 2007. The United States trails Europe in developing offshore wind-power energy production. Denmark accounts for more than half of the world production, followed by Britain. If built today, Cape Wind would be the world's largest offshore wind-power farm. But approval is not certain, Energy Security Services Inc. analyst Paul Flemming said. "I'm really not a betting man. It's been such a roller coaster," he said. It would consistently generate 170 megwatts of electricity, enough to power about 75 percent of Cape Cod and the nearby islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. At its peak, the wind farm could generate more than 400 megawatts. Supporters say it would save millions of dollars in energy costs and help the United States reduce its reliance on foreign oil at a time of record-high crude prices. Opponents, including Massachusetts politicians and business leaders with homes on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, say Cape Wind's 247-foot-tall turbines would kill migrating birds and could threaten the region's lucrative tourist industry. Charles Vinick, president of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, said he believed Cape Wind could ultimately be denied approval after the regulatory review. It could be ruled a navigational hazard by the Coast Guard, he said. -------- OTHER -------- environment Oil Spill Adds Ecological Crisis to Lebanon's Agony July 28, 2006 — By Lin Noueihed, Reuters http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=10960 BEIRUT — Along Lebanon's sandy beaches and rocky headlands runs a belt of black sludge, 10,000 to 30,000 tonnes of oil that spilled into the Mediterranean Sea after Israel bombed a power plant. Lebanon's Environment Ministry says the oil flooded into the sea when Israeli jets hit storage tanks at the Jiyyeh plant south of Beirut on July 13 and 15, creating an ecological crisis that Lebanon's government has neither the money nor the expertise to deal with. "We have never seen a spill like this in the history of Lebanon. It is a major catastrophe," Environment Minister Yacoub al-Sarraf told Reuters. "The equipment we have is for minor spills. We use it once in a blue moon to clean a small spill of 50 tonnes or so. To clean this whole thing up we would need an armada ... The cost of a full clean-up could run as high as $40-50 million." The spill is especially threatening since fish spawn and sea turtles nest on Lebanon's coast, including the green turtle which is endangered in the Mediterranean, local ecologists say. Carried by a north-easterly wind, the spill has travelled 70-80 km up the coast of Lebanon, which has been bombarded by Israel for 16 days in a war against Hizbollah. An Israeli warship damaged by a Hizbollah missile on July 15 may also have spilled diesel oil into the sea, according to the Environment Ministry website (www.moe.gov.lb). At Beirut's Sporting Club, seven men in navy overalls perch on the edge of a man-made inlet skimming sludge, using buckets on the end of sticks and pouring it into plastic containers. The ground around them is black, as are their forearms and clothes. The air is thick with acrid fumes that sting the eyes and irritate the throat. The team is part of a pilot clean-up commissioned by the Environment Ministry. Another mop-up is underway at the San Antoine Sandy Beach Resort in northern Lebanon. MARINE LIFE DEAD "It arrived the day after they hit the Jiyyeh power plant. The worst has passed now. A couple of days ago the whole coastline was black," said Walid Abu Nassar, surveying the damage to the Sporting Club, which he runs. "First they tried to pump it out but that didn't work, now this. These are crude methods but Lebanon has no other way." Lebanon has turned to oil producer Kuwait for help. A plane load of equipment is due to arrive from Kuwait via Syria by the end of the week, Sarraf said. But one of the main problems is that an Israeli air and sea blockade in place since the war began on July 12 is hampering both the clean-up and the delivery of equipment. "To really clean it up we need access to the sea, which we don't have," Sarraf said. "We need more equipment and mobilisation but for that we need the hostilities to end." The migratory season is over so birds should not be badly affected and some oil may evaporate or decompose, but spills can smother or poison sea life, the Environment Ministry says. Even if Lebanon is able to mop up, the marine ecosystem could take years to recover, local environmentalists say. Commercial fishing and tourism has been at a standstill since the war began because of the air and sea blockade. "July is hatching season for turtle eggs and baby turtles have to reach deep water as fast as possible to avoid predators. With the oil in their way, they will not survive," Wael Hmaidan, a local environmental activist said. "The oil spill, part of which has settled on the sea floor, threatens blue fin tuna, which is an important but overfished commercial fish, as well as shark species." ---- Audit Shows Toxins Poorly Safeguarded July 28, 2006 — By Libby Quaid, Associated Press http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=10957 WASHINGTON — Biological agents and toxins used to kill wildlife are poorly safeguarded by the Agriculture Department, a federal audit found. At issue is how the department handles and stores the poisons it uses to kill animals such as starlings, wild turkeys and chickens, black bears, coyotes and wolves that are considered a nuisance. The department's Wildlife Services program uses chemical agents to kill animals, mainly because they threaten livestock, crops or people in airplanes. An audit by the department's inspector general faulted the agency for: --failing to keep accurate inventories of agents or toxins. --not restricting access to agents or toxins. --not having complete security plans. Auditors visited 10 of 75 registered entities where agents are kept and found that none of the 10 complied with security regulations. Department spokeswoman Karen Eggert said Thursday that officials take their wildlife responsibilities "very seriously and comply with all federal and state laws associated with the use of hazardous materials." She said the department stepped up its oversight of hazardous materials in 2004 with quarterly site reviews to make sure its inventory database is accurate. Chemicals are secured in locked storage facilities, and employees work closely with states to be certified to distribute chemicals, she said. Environmental groups criticize the department for poisoning animals. "The larger question is why the federal government is scattering highly dangerous toxicants all across the country as a wildlife control strategy," said Wendy Keefover-Ring, spokeswoman for Sinapu, a Colorado-based advocacy group for wolves and other predators. "For reasons of public safety, as well as environmental integrity, the Department of Agriculture needs to move away from its poison first mentality for wildlife management," she said. The department killed more than 2.7 million nuisance animals in 2004, the most recent year for which data was available. The majority of animals killed were starlings, birds that destroy crops and contaminate livestock feed. -------- ACTIVISTS Police spies chosen to lead war protest Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, July 28, 2006 http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/07/28/SURVEILLANCE.TMP Two Oakland police officers working undercover at an anti-war protest in May 2003 got themselves elected to leadership positions in an effort to influence the demonstration, documents released Thursday show. The department assigned the officers to join activists protesting the U.S. war in Iraq and the tactics that police had used at a demonstration a month earlier, a police official said last year in a sworn deposition. At the first demonstration, police fired nonlethal bullets and bean bags at demonstrators who blocked the Port of Oakland's entrance in a protest against two shipping companies they said were helping the war effort. Dozens of activists and longshoremen on their way to work suffered injuries ranging from welts to broken bones and have won nearly $2 million in legal settlements from the city. The extent of the officers' involvement in the subsequent march May 12, 2003, led by Direct Action to Stop the War and others, is unclear. But in a deposition related to a lawsuit filed by protesters, Deputy Police Chief Howard Jordan said activists had elected the undercover officers to "plan the route of the march and decide I guess where it would end up and some of the places that it would go." It was revealed later that the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center, which was established by the state attorney general's office to help local police agencies fight terrorism, had posted an alert about the April protest. Oakland police had also monitored online postings by the longshoremen's union regarding its opposition to the war. The documents showing that police subsequently tried to influence a demonstration were released Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union, as part of a report criticizing government surveillance of political activists since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The ACLU said the documents came from the lawsuit over the police use of force. Jordan, in his deposition in April 2005, said under questioning by plaintiffs' attorney Jim Chanin that undercover Officers Nobuko Biechler and Mark Turpin had been elected to be leaders in the May 12 demonstration an hour after meeting protesters that day. Asked who had ordered the officers to infiltrate the group, Jordan said, "I don't know if there is one particular person, but I think together we probably all decided it would be a good idea to have some undercover officers there." Several months after the rally, Jordan told a city police review board examining the April 2003 port clash that "our ability to gather intelligence on these groups and this type of operation needs to be improved," according to a transcript provided by the ACLU. "I don't mean same-day intelligence," Jordan told the civilian review panel. "I'm talking about long-term intelligence gathering." He noted that "two of our officers were elected leaders within an hour on May 12." The idea was "to gather the information and maybe even direct them to do something that we want them to do," Jordan said. "I call that being totalitarian," said Jack Heyman, a longshoremen's union member who took part in the May 12 march. He said he was not certain whether he had any contact with the officers that day. Jordan declined to comment when reached at his office Thursday. In his deposition, he said the Police Department no longer allows such undercover work. City Attorney John Russo said he was not familiar with the police infiltration of the protest, but said the city had made "significant changes" in its approach toward demonstrations after the port incident. Police enacted a new crowd-control policy limiting the use of nonlethal force in 2004. The ACLU said the Oakland case was one of several instances in which police agencies had spied on legitimate political activity since 2001. Mark Schlosberg, who directs the ACLU's police policy work and wrote the report released Thursday, cited previously reported instances of spying on groups in Santa Cruz and Fresno in addition to the Oakland case. He called on state Attorney General Bill Lockyer and local police to ensure that law-abiding activist groups don't come under government investigation. "It's very important that there be regulation up front to prevent these kinds of abuses from occurring," Schlosberg said at a news conference. Schlosberg said the state needs an independent inspector looking into complaints and keeping an eye on intelligence gathering at such agencies as the California National Guard and the state Department of Homeland Security. Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for Lockyer, said the attorney general had not yet read the ACLU report. But he said his boss "won't abide violations of civil liberties. There's no room in this state or anywhere in this country for monitoring the activity of groups merely because they have a political viewpoint." Following the Oakland port protest and disclosures about the monitoring of activists, Lockyer issued guidelines in 2003 stating that police must suspect that a crime has been committed before collecting intelligence on activist groups. But Schlosberg said the ACLU had surveyed 94 law enforcement agencies last year and found that just eight were aware of the guidelines. Only six had written policies restricting surveillance activities, he said. ---- Atomic bomb survivor to speak at Hiroshima anniversary Contra Costa Times By Betsy Mason July 28, 2006 http://www.topix.net/content/kri/4044926224053792947237338080560567910598 A survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima will speak at an Aug. 6 rally in Livermore to mark the 61st anniversary of the event. During the week after the bombing, Keiji Tsuchiya served as a rescue worker aiding other victims. Today the 78-year old is vice president of the Okayama A-bomb Sufferers Association. He is traveling from Japan to participate in the Livermore rally in protest of nuclear weapons. Demonstrators plan to gather at the corner of Vasco Road and Patterson Pass at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory at 8 a.m. Aug. 6 for speeches and ceremonies and will march to the laboratory gate at 9 a.m. for a nondenominational ceremony. Other speakers will include author and media critic Norman Soloman and Marylia Kelley, director of Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment. Another rally is planned for Aug. 9, the anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Participants will meet in San Francisco at 9 a.m. in front of the Bechtel Corporation headquarters at 50 Beale St. Bechtel recently joined the University of California in a successful bid for the management of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and is a partner in the management of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Aug. 9 is also the United Nations International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples and the featured speaker at the rally will be Corbin Harney, a spiritual leader of the Western Shoshone Nation. The Yucca Mountain site is on land to which the Western Shoshone claim they hold the rights. The rallies are linked to events at nuclear weapons sites across the country. Information about the effort is available at the Web site: august6.org.