NucNews August 8, 2006 -------- NUCLEAR Bacteria Roll Out Carpet Of Goo That Converts Deadly Heavy Metal Into Less Threatening Nano-spheres August 8, 2006 Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060808091833.htm Since the discovery a little more than a decade ago of bacteria that chemically modify and neutralize toxic metals without apparent harm to themselves, scientists have wondered how on earth these microbes do it. For Shewanella oneidensis, a microbe that modifies uranium chemistry, the pieces are coming together, and they resemble pearls that measure precisely 5 nanometers across enmeshed in a carpet of slime secreted by the bacteria. The pearl is uranium dioxide, or uraninite, which moves much less freely in soil than its soluble counterpart, a groundwater-contamination threat at nuclear waste sites. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that uranium contaminates more than 2,500 billion liters of groundwater nationwide; over the past decade, the agency has support research into the ability of naturally-occurring microbes that can halt the uranium’s underground migration to prevent it from reaching streams used by plants, animals and people. Assembling a battery of evidence, scientists have for the first time placed the bacterial enzymes responsible for converting uranium to uraninite at the scene of the slime, or “extracellular polymeric substance” (EPS), according to a study led by the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in today’s advance online edition of PLoS Biology. “Shewanella really puts a lot of stuff outside the cell,” said PNNL chief scientist Jim Fredrickson, the study’s senior author. “It’s very tactile compared with pathogens, which go into hiding to evade detection by the immune system.” Another oddity is Shewanella’s ability to “breathe,” or reduce, metals the way we human beings do oxygen. When oxygen is unavailable, Shewanella can pass excess energy during respiration in the form of electrons to metal and alter the metal’s chemistry in the bargain—for instance, turning soluble uranium into solid, insoluble uraninite (uranium dioxide). Fredrickson, PNNL staff scientist/lead author Matthew Marshall and colleagues wondered whether uranium-reducing components in that stuff outside the cell, the EPS, might help Shewanella seek out and lock up heavy metals. To pose that question, which remains open, they first had to prove that the same metal-reducing enzymes—proteins called c-type cytochromes—associated with uraninite formation in the outer membrane could also be found outside the cell in the EPS. This they did through a variety of experiments that included creating mutant strains unable to make outer-membrane cytochrome, or OMC, leading to an excess of uraninite particles forming only inside the cell, in the periplasm – the region between the microbe’s cell and outer membrane. In nonmutants, on the other hand, OMC and uraninite were found mainly outside the cell in association with the EPS. Collaborators from Argonne National Laboratory applied X-ray fluorescence microscopy at the Advanced Photon Source to show that iron, which is also found in OMC, was in the uraninite-EPS complex. Combining high-resolution microscopy and OMC-specific antibodies, the researchers repeatedly found the metal-reducing proteins in the uraninite-EPS complexes. The authors noted that the OMC-containing EPS may be involved in the transfer of electrons outside the cell or is possibly a way the microbes shed the uraninite particles. “Regardless,” Fredrickson said, “the sticky EPS may behave like glue and bind the uranium particles to soil, further impeding its migration in the environment.” The research was funded by DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Environmental Remediation Sciences Program and Genomics: Genomes to Life. Part of this research was performed as a biogeochemistry grand challenge at the W.R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE national user facility located at PNNL. -------- canada N.B. should consult widely on 2nd nuclear reactor: Liberal leader Tue Aug 8, 2006 (CBC) http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/08082006/3/canada-n-b-consult-widely-2nd-nuclear-reactor-liberal-leader.html New Brunswick should undertake a comprehensive, independent study into the possibility of building a second nuclear reactor at Point Lepreau, Liberal Leader Shawn Graham said Tuesday. Graham, who was in Saint John to introduce his party's energy policy, said the Progressive Conservative government's internal review is not comprehensive enough. "I'm concerned that the government has not given its wholehearted support to a feasibility analysis on a second nuclear reactor," he said. "They're doing an in-house independent study. I would like to see a truly independent study taken in consultation with stakeholders outside the New Brunswick region, as well, to see what types of partnerships can be formed to minimize our risk, but at the same time achieve greater benefits for this region." As part of his energy platform, Graham said a Liberal government would provide grants of up to $2,000 to make homes more energy efficient. He's also promising to move the Department of Energy and its 20 employees from Fredericton to Saint John, and begin negotiations on an accord with Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island for joint planning on generating and transmitting electricity. -------- depleted uranium Hibakusha dream shattered Tehran Times Opinion Column 09/08/2006 (MNA) http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=36299 TEHRAN, Aug. 9 -- The dream of the hibakusha is shattered, as the DU munitions used around the world shatter into depleted uranium dust, contaminating everything. “No one else should ever suffer as we did” has been the constant mantra of the hibakusha, which is the Japanese word for survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for over six decades. Today is Nagasaki Day, the 61st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, which will be holding a solemn ceremony in memory of the victims of that tragedy and to encourage people to work for world peace. Similar ceremonies were held on August 6 in Hiroshima and other cities. On this anniversary of a dark day in history, humanity is still far from realizing the goal of world peace. The United States, Russia, and Britain are modernizing their nuclear arsenals. The U.S. is even designing a new generation of mini-nukes. U.S. officials have not ruled out the use of nuclear weapons in future conflicts. Nuclear weapons states, particularly the U.S. and the Zionist regime, have adopted a threatening nuclear stance toward their rivals. On top of all this, the radiological weapon depleted uranium has been used by the U.S. military in Iraq, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. The U.S. Army has admitted they used over 500 tons of uranium munitions in the first two months of the 2003 war in Iraq. In addition, there are now reports that Israel has used GBU 28 precision-guided bombs with depleted uranium warheads in Lebanon. This is truly a war on the gene pool of the Islamic people since depleted uranium causes genetic damage. Physicians in Iraq have documented a threefold increase in childhood cancers and a fivefold increase in birth defects since 1990. The U.S. military used DU weapons in that country for the first time in 1991. U.S troops are also being affected. A site established by a group of professors from the University of Minnesota at Duluth, umdfacultyagainstwar.com, wrote: “In a group of 251 soldiers in one study group in Mississippi, all of whom had normally birthed babies prior to their participation in either of the two (Persian) Gulf Wars, 67% of their post-war offspring were born with severe deformities, including but not limited to, birth defects; many were born with limbs missing, missing or damaged organs, missing eyes, or had blood-related or immune system diseases. In some veteran’s families, the only ‘normal children’ are those conceived and born before their participation in either of the Iraqi Wars…” Furthermore, many of the internet sites that had posted photos of deformed babies of families that were affected by depleted uranium munitions are now out of order. Despite this bleak picture, there is still hope. In the Hiroshima Peace Declaration 2006 on Sunday, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said: “Nuclear weapons are illegal, immoral weapons designed to obliterate cities. Our goals are to reveal the delusions behind ‘nuclear deterrence theory’ and the ‘nuclear umbrella’, which hold cities hostage, and to protect, from a legal and moral standpoint, our citizens’ right to life.” Elsewhere in his remarks, Akiba said: “To console the many victims whose names remain unknown, this year for the first time we added the words ‘Many Unknown’ to the ledger of victims’ names placed in the cenotaph. We humbly pray for the peaceful repose of the souls of all atomic bomb victims and a future of peace and harmony for the human family.” Even a shattered dream can be brought back to life. Fortunately, there are still many people working to make the dream come true, so the ‘Many Unknown’ can truly rest in peace. -------- korea N.Korea atomic test seen harming NE Asia economies Tue Aug 8, 2006 (Reuters) http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060808/ts_nm/korea_north_economy_dc WASHINGTON - A test of a nuclear weapon by North Korea would have a "negative though not cataclysmic" impact on South Korea's economy and could pose strains on China, said a study on Tuesday by a leading U.S. economist. An analysis by Marcus Noland of the Institute for International Economics found that among North Korea's neighbors, South Korea was the most economically vulnerable to a nuclear breakout by the North. A test by isolated North Korea, which declared itself a nuclear power in February 2005 without testing, could cause Japan to suffer some capital flight. China had slight economic exposure to North Korea, but could suffer if a crisis provoked by Pyongyang soured ties with the West and Japan, it said. "The economic implications of a nuclear test for the region while not catastrophic, would not be benign," wrote Noland, a leading expert on the North Korean economy. Defying international warnings, North Korea test-fired seven missiles on July 5 in a move that was later condemned in a U.N. Security Council resolution. Talks on ending North Korea's nuclear programs among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States have been stalled since November. Noland's 22-page study used the results of the 1998 nuclear test by Pakistan that drew widespread sanctions against Islamabad and the 1997-98 financial crisis in South Korea to project the economic impact of a North Korean nuclear test. South Korea's vulnerability to a market panic has risen because its financial system is far more open and the level of foreign investors' participation is far greater than it was during the late 1990s financial meltdown, the study said. Seoul authorities, however, have official reserves of over $200 billion and the legal ability to reimpose capital controls to mitigate the crisis, the study added. China, with huge reserves and an economy centered on coastal regions "would appear to be the least economically threatened by a nuclear test," Noland wrote. But China had indirect exposure to North Korean provocations if trade partners reacted to Beijing's role as the main backer of Pyongyang, the study said. "A political dispute that spilled into trade policy or simply contributed to soured trade relations with the U.S., Japan, and EU could significantly harm China's economy," it said. -------- russia Officials dispel charges over uranium ignition at Urals plant 08/ 08/ 2006 (RIA Novosti) http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060808/52391504.html MOSCOW, August 8 - Russia's nuclear agency said Tuesday environmentalists' claims that they had been barred from taking measurements near a nuclear plant in Urals after a fire broke out there in early July were untrue. Ecodefense, which comprises environment activists from several countries, and Norway-based Bellona said Monday that they had been barred from conducting soil tests in the town of Lesnoi, home to the military plant Elektrokhimpribor, where an incident of uranium self-ignition occurred July 3. Plant managers and the Federal Service for Nuclear Power said the fire was extinguished in two hours and one worker was hospitalized, but he returned to work after medical examination. Authorities also said the local population had nothing to be concerned about. But independent experts said at least 200 kg of uranium-238 caught fire and it took two and a half hours to extinguish the blaze. Given the amount of the substance, they said, the fire could have led to major radioactive emissions. Sergei Novikov, agency press secretary, said the agency made a proposal to Ecodefense head Vladimir Slivyak in mid-July, after receiving complaints from the two organizations, to organize a trip to Lesnoi to measure background radiation. Novikov said he had warned environmentalists that soil tests were out of question because of the Lesnoi facility was off-limits. "The agency is interested in cooperation with environmental organizations: somebody has to perform an alarm function, but we disapprove of an irresponsible alarmism," Novikov said. Novikov added that environmentalists had not even bothered to measure radiation, which he said was a further proof that it was within the norm. But Ecodefense's Web site says alpha-ray, rather than gamma-ray, radiation was to be measured as uranium-238 emits weak gamma rays, but its alpha particles, although they are less penetrating than other forms of radiation, pose increased health risks if inhaled or ingested. Uranium, they said, is also chemically toxic. The organization also accused the nuclear agency and plant officials of barring its experts from talking to workers and claimed the worker remained in hospital. ---- Russia Test Fires Another Topol by Martin Sieff UPI Senior News Analyst Washington (UPI) Aug 08, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Russia_Test_Fires_Another_Topol_999.html Russia has successfully test launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from its northern space-vehicle launching site, Plesetsk, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported Aug. 3 The intercontinental Topol class ballistic missile, also known in the West as the CC-25, was launched on Aug. 3 at 1:38 pm Moscow time from a mobile launching installation, sources from the northern cosmodrome told ITAR-TASS. The aim of the test was to assure that the exploitation period of the missile could be extended, a Russian space forces' press-service representative told Regions.ru online daily. The flight of the missile was strictly controlled by Russian space force devices. The launch and the flight of Topol have met all necessary standards. At the scheduled time the missile hit its target situated on the exercise polygon on the Kamchtaka Peninsula. The RT-2PM Topol is a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile designed in the Soviet Union in 1970 and is still used in Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces. The first tests of the missile were conducted in 1981. Full deployment of 360 missiles was achieved in 1996, and as of 2005, 300 remain on duty. Ballistic missiles are typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery. The Topol is a road mobile 3-stage, single warhead missile. It weights 2,200 pounds and can deliver a single warhead over a range of 6,300 miles with an accuracy of just over half a mile, according to Russian sources. More than 500 intercontinental ballistic missiles, including 80 Topols, have been launched from the cosmodrome Plesetsk since it has been in operation. More than 1550 carrier rockets have been launched, 60 types of spacecraft tested, and over 38 percent of the worlds' spacecraft put into the orbit from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- nevada Federal appeals court rejects Nevada arguments on Yucca Mountain ASSOCIATED PRESS August 08, 2006 http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/aug/08/080810526.html WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to review the Energy Department's plans for transporting nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain by train. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Nevada's arguments against the Energy Department's environmental impact statement and other decision-making documents for the waste transport plan. Nevada contended the agency overstepped its authority and violated environmental rules in reaching its decision to rely mostly on rail to take at least 77,000 tons of commercial spent fuel and high-level defense waste to the dump site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "We conclude that some of Nevada's claims are unripe for review and the remaining claims are without merit," said a decision written by Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson. -------- us nuc waste Governors oppose plan to ban nuke waste in Utah By Robert Gehrke 8/08/2006 Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4151649 WASHINGTON - A group of Northeastern governors are urging Congress not to adopt a nuclear waste storage plan that would keep waste out of Utah by consolidating it in the states where it was produced. The provision would allow spent nuclear fuel to be consolidated at temporary storage sites, as long as it stays in a state that has commercial nuclear power. Nevada and Utah would be explicitly ruled out as a storage site. But governors in northeastern states, where many commercial nuclear reactors are located, don't like the change. "We are deeply concerned and must strongly oppose language . . . that would suddenly shift long-established national policy on nuclear waste disposal by requiring commercial spent fuel at local or regional federal consolidated facilities in up to 31 states across the nation," Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri and Vermont Gov. James Douglas wrote on behalf of the Coalition of Northeastern Governors. The governors also say the bill sets up an aggressive timetable to set up the storage sites that doesn't give enough time to evaluate safety, security and environmental impacts. The waste would presumably be kept at the storage site until the Energy Department develops technology to recycle the nuclear material -------- MILITARY -------- afghanistan Brutal US attack on unarmed Afghans captured by photos By Tom Coghlan in Kabul Published: 08 August 2006 UK Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1217554.ece Claims that US troops shot dead up to six unarmed Afghan civilians two months ago in Kabul have been given added credibility with a series of photographs offering visual evidence of military misconduct. The pictures were taken by an Afghan passer-by on 29 May in Khair Kane, a district of north Kabul. The 20 photographs appear to show a group of unarmed Afghan civilians being killed by gunfire from an American Humvee. The allegations made in Kabul follow other recent incidents in which US troops are alleged to have used disproportionate or reckless force against civilians, most notably in Haditha, Iraq, on 19 November 2005 when US troops allegedly killed 15 civilians. The Kabul pictures were taken as American vehicles fled the scene of an accident in which several Afghans were killed and injured after a US Army truck lost control and hit a number of civilian vehicles. Shot from a hillside above where the original accident took place, they show a crowd of Afghans throwing stones at the American vehicles. A sequence of pictures show US vehicles leaving at high speed as the crowd stones them. In one sequence, a clearly unarmed Afghan man is seen with an American Humvee in the background, then as part of a group of men throwing stones towards the Americans. Two frames later his lifeless body is on the ground, having apparently been shot in the chest. Another picture shows the body of an 18-year-old mechanic named Maiwan. His family said he was also hit by bullets fired from a US Humvee towards the crowd. His brother Jawad, 19, said Maiwan died from wounds to his knee and chest. "We are not the sort of people to do anything against US forces," said Jawad. "Maiwan was quiet and friendly. My father loved him too much, more than the rest of us." The photographer, Atif Ahmadzai, 34, said: "I thought at first they were firing into the air. I was on the hill taking the pictures and, as they fired towards me, I ducked. One bullet grazed my thigh. Two people were killed behind me." He said he saw six bodies in total. The day after the rioting he took the pictures to the US embassy. "I told them,'Just look at the people in the pictures, they are all unarmed'," he said. A statement released by the US military said a US Army truck had suffered a brake failure, causing it to lose control and hit up to 13 Afghan civilian vehicles, killing one person. The statement said: "There are indications that at least one coalition military vehicle fired warning shots over the crowd." US forces have launched an investigation into the incident, the results of which are due to be published next week. All the witnesses to the incident reported at least one US vehicle opened fire on the civilians. "I saw with my own eyes that the soldier fired on the people," said Nazir Akhmad, 32, who owns a petrol station near where the accident occurred. "Her gun was pointed in the air but then she brought it down and started firing. The first bullet killed a boy called Khaled." The US military declined to comment yesterday on its investigation. The US spokesman, Col Tom Collins, said: "I can't comment on the results of the investigation but there is no doubt that our soldiers thought there was fire emanating from the crowd." -------- arms U.S. tests motor for new submarine missile Aug. 8, 2006 (UPI) http://washtimes.com/upi/20060808-041132-8531r.htm The second static test of a motor for the U.S. Navy's sub-launched SLIRBM ballistic missile was carried out earlier this month. The test was carried out on Aug. 3 at ATK's test center at Promontory, Utah. The SLIRBM is being designed to launch from the Navy's Ohio-class SSGN submarine as an intermediate-range, no-notice global strike asset. Once deployed, the missile will allow commanders to call in a conventional-payload strike that will have a range in excess of 1,100 miles and enough speed to reach the target within 15 minutes of launch. The weapon will be part of the varied arsenal of the SSGN subs, which are revamped Trident nuclear subs outfitted with cruise missiles and capable of transporting relatively large special operations teams. ATK said the test went well with the solid-fuel Orion 32-4 second-stage booster motor firing successfully for 40 seconds at maximum thrust. The first test, which was conducted in July, involved the modified ATK Orion 32-7 first-stage motor. Both firings demonstrated the integration of the motor itself with an electro-magnetic thrust vector control system developed by Moog Inc. that will allow the missile to respond to steering and flight-control commands from an avionics system. "Our team now has demonstrated propulsion technologies that are key to further developing this potential new capability for the Navy," said Lockheed Martin's Michele Smith, the overall program director for the SLIRBM project. "Next, we will complete a missile system trade study." ---- General Still Hopeful On Trident Funding by Martin Sieff UPI Senior News Analyst Washington (UPI) Aug 08, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/reports/General_Still_Hopeful_On_Trident_Funding_999.html The head of U.S. Strategic Command, Gen. James Cartwright, anticipates Congress will consider releasing additional funds for a new, conventionally armed Trident D-5 missile next year, once studies are done that show the weapon can be used with little risk of provoking nuclear retaliation. His comments, offered in an interview last week with InsideDefense.com, came in the wake of congressional action that may leave the Navy's proposed Conventional Trident Modification, or CTM, effort with just a fraction of the $127 million the Defense Department requested for fiscal year 2007, InsideDefense.com said. The U.S. Senate last week deferred a vote on its 2007 defense appropriations bill that provides no Fiscal Year 2007 funds to develop CTM, but offers $5 million to conduct a study on potential land- or air-based alternatives to the submarine-launched missile. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would appropriate $30 million for CTM for the coming fiscal year, or less than one-quarter of the funds sought. The two chambers' bills are expected to be reconciled in conference committee in the coming months. All four key defense committees on Capitol Hill have expressed concern that the launch of a conventionally armed D-5 from a submarine that also carries the nuclear-tipped version of the same missile could prompt international misinterpretation that some experts say might lead to hasty retaliation against the United States, InsideDefense.com said. -------- ENERGY -------- alternative energy Dutch Nedalco Plans Ethanol Plants in Europe Story by Anna Mudeva REUTERS NETHERLANDS: August 8, 2006 http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/37556/story.htm BERGEN OP ZOOM, Netherlands - Dutch alcohol producer Royal Nedalco is considering building several bioethanol plants in northwestern Europe to gain a share of the growing "green" fuel market, a company official said on Monday. Managing Director Ger Bemer told Reuters in an interview his company wanted to build its first plant in the Netherlands based on wheat and sugar, while gradually starting to use non-food alternatives such as straw. "Eventually, we plan to have several plants in Europe , starting with the Netherlands. We see the market gaining speed after it took a long time to start," Bemer said. "We aim at a good share of the northwest European market -- the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the UK," he said. Ethanol, produced mainly from sugar, is the world's most widely used "green" alternative to fossil fuels with an annual production of around 38 million tonnes, analysts say. Ethanol is blended with fuel and used in vehicles without a need to convert the engine. In Europe, biodiesel produced from rapeseed oil is the most popular "green fuel". High crude oil prices and use of diesel cars have made biodiesel even more attractive in the EU, where tax incentives have already stimulated green fuel production. Bemer said he expected Nedalco to make an investment decision to build its first ethanol plant in the Netherlands in the next few months, once the Dutch government published the details of a plan to introduce compulsory blending from 2007. He did not give other details but said that Nedalco, a leading producer of ethyl alcohol in Europe, was considering a plant of at least 100,000-200,000 tonnes annual capacity. The Dutch government plans to make blending of diesel and petrol with a 2 percent content of biodiesel or ethanol obligatory from Jan. 1, 2007. The new rule will replace existing tax breaks, which will be abolished. MANDATORY BLENDING Bemer said the Europe Union should introduce mandatory blending of biofuels for all member states to allow the industry to grow and compete in the world market. "Getting rid of all national programmes and making blending obligatory all over the EU would be a good option. The current system makes the market fragmented ... and we won't be able to compete globally," he said. The EU wants biofuels to have a 5.75 percent share of the 25-nation bloc's petrol and diesel market by 2010 but does not have a unified policy how to achieve that. Some countries give tax breaks, others have decided to go for obligatory blending. Bemer said that countries which offer tax incentives are usually protective of domestic biofuel producers and thus close their market for foreigners. Developing non-food alternatives to be used as raw material to produce bioethanol is also among Nedalco's priorities, he said. Alternatives are needed to address fears that biofuels can put a squeeze on food needs and damage biodiversity. Nedalco had developed a new fermentation process, using modified yeasts capable of converting all kind of cellulose, including straw and wood waste, into alcohol. The company expects that a part of its bioethanol production in the next five years would be based on non-food alternatives, Bemer said. -------- OTHER -------- environment Beirut oil slick devastates the Mediterranean By Anne Penketh Published: 08 August 2006 UK Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1217562.ece The Israeli bombing of a Lebanese power plant has triggered the Mediterranean's worst ever environmental catastrophe, with up to 30,000 tons of heavy fuel oil spewing out into the sea and the sludge-covered bodies of dead fish littering the once pristine beaches. The marine damage in the Mediterranean, according to a spokeswoman for a UN agency that hopes to help clean up the mess once the bombing of Lebanon stops, could last for "up to a century". Fuel tanks at the power plant at Jieh, located on the coastline 19 miles south of Beirut, have been on fire since the facility was hit on 13 July by Israeli warplanes. Two days later it was hit again. The fuel that did not catch fire spilled into the sea, causing a huge slick which has spread 50 miles up the coast of Lebanon and six miles along the coastline of neighbouring Syria. Many Lebanese accuse Israel of deliberating trying to sabotage the economy and the country's fragile tourist industry. Yassin Jaber, a prominent Lebanese MP who is a former minister, yesterday said: "This is part of a sequence of the war of envy and hatred. Why hit the factories, destroying its economic backbone? There's no other explanation." The Israeli bombing of a Lebanese power plant has triggered the Mediterranean's worst ever environmental catastrophe, with up to 30,000 tons of heavy fuel oil spewing out into the sea and the sludge-covered bodies of dead fish littering the once pristine beaches. The marine damage in the Mediterranean, according to a spokeswoman for a UN agency that hopes to help clean up the mess once the bombing of Lebanon stops, could last for "up to a century". Fuel tanks at the power plant at Jieh, located on the coastline 19 miles south of Beirut, have been on fire since the facility was hit on 13 July by Israeli warplanes. Two days later it was hit again. The fuel that did not catch fire spilled into the sea, causing a huge slick which has spread 50 miles up the coast of Lebanon and six miles along the coastline of neighbouring Syria. Many Lebanese accuse Israel of deliberating trying to sabotage the economy and the country's fragile tourist industry. Yassin Jaber, a prominent Lebanese MP who is a former minister, yesterday said: "This is part of a sequence of the war of envy and hatred. Why hit the factories, destroying its economic backbone? There's no other explanation." ---- Lebanon Oil Spill a Biodiversity Disaster, Cleanup Blocked ATHENS, Greece, August 8, 2006 (ENS) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2006/2006-08-08-01.asp Two United Nations experts arrived today in Syria to evaluate the consequences of the oil spill that has contaminated more than 140 kilometers of the Lebanese coastline and has spread north into Syrian waters. Heavy fighting continues to rage in southern Lebanon, blocking access to the polluted area. The Israeli bombing of the Lebanese power plant at Jiyyeh 30 kilometers south of Beirut on July 13 and 15 is believed to have spilled at least 10,000 and up to 35,000 metric tons of oil into the Eastern Mediterranean. Some fear the oil could spread to Turkey and Cyprus. Paul Mifsud, coordinator of the Athens based UN Environment Programme' Mediterranean Action Plan, or UNEP-MAP, said Syrian Minister of Local Administration and Environment Helal Al-Atrash confirmed that the oil has spread along the Syrian coastline from the Al-Aridah area to Al-Nauras. In a letter to UNEP-MAP dated August 4, Al-Atrash asked UNEP-MAP “to send professional companies to control the spilled oil on the shoreline and territorial waters." UNEP said today that the quantity of oil spilled in Lebanon is already comparable to the disaster caused in 1999 off the coast of France when the Erika tanker spilled 13,000 metric tonnes of oil into the Atlantic Ocean. The agency warned that if all the oil contained in the bombed power plant at Jiyyeh leaked into the Mediterranean Sea, the Lebanese oil spill could rival the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989. Marine species such as the commercially important bluefin tuna are believed to have been affected by the oil spill. “This oil slick definitely poses a threat to biodiversity," said marine biologist Dr. Ezio Amato of Italy, who arrived in Damascus today to assess the spill. Dr. Amato is a specialist in the impact of human activities on marine benthic ecosystems, fate and effects of pollutants in these ecosystems. He is from ICRAM, the Istituto Centrale per la Ricerca scientificae tecnologica Applicata al Mare, an Italian research institute that is part of a group of organizations cooperating to address the spill. “Because tuna’s eggs and larvae float on the water surface, they can be directly affected by this oil slick, with potential serious consequences for the tuna population in the Mediterranean," Amato said. The largest of the tunas, bluefin tuna migrate from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Mediterranean and form spawning aggregations. The species is already at risk due to overfishing, warned WWF in a July report, saying current levels of fishing are 2.5 times higher than the bluefin tuna populations can sustain. “Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks risk imminent commercial collapse,” said Roberto Mielgo Bregazzi, CEO of Advanced Tuna Ranching Technologies and author of the WWF report. “In the race to catch shrinking tuna stocks, industrial fleets are switching from traditional fishing grounds to the last breeding refuges in the eastern Mediterranean,” he said. At this time of year, critically endangered Mediterranean green turtles nest on a beach in Lebanon, but the coast is coated with oil from the spill. "I saw many fish and crabs dead by the Ramlet al-Baida beach," environmental activist Iffat Edriss told the "Daily Star," describing the situation as a disaster for the marine ecosystem. Ramlet al-Baida is the only public beach in Beirut. At this stage the information however remains sketchy and no cleanup action has been possible. Dr. Amato will provide visual documentation and validate through a field assessment what is shown in the satellite imagery and models. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said, “While I fully understand the complexity and political implications, many are appalled that, more than three weeks into this crisis, there has been no on the ground assessment to support the Lebanese government, no moves possible towards a cleanup, and indeed few practical measures to contain the further spread of the slick." “We are dealing with a very serious incident and any practical steps are still constrained by the continuation of hostilities. We are glad that two of our experts will now be able to provide advice from Damascus, even though much more is needed," said Steiner. In Damascus, Dr. Amato will join another specialist from the Joint UNEP-OCHA Environment Unit, who is traveling to the region from Geneva to coordinate the emerging efforts on the ground. “The cleanup operations will require intense cooperation between international actors and the governments of the Mediterranean region," Steiner said. The International Maritime Organization, IMO, is coordinating the international effort to help Lebanon to respond to the oil spill, following a request for assistance from the Lebanese Environment Minister on July 27. The IMO is collaborating with the Joint Environment Unit of UNEP and the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and with the European Commission. The Commission is evaluating and monitoring the scope of the marine pollution on the basis of contacts of experts from the European Commission’s Monitoring and Information Centre, MIC, with the Lebanese Ministry of Environment. Detailed satellite images provided by MIC partners are being analyzed. “With the help of the MIC, member states will be able to provide co-ordinated assistance, including experts and specialised materials,” said European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, who is in charge of the Monitoring and Information Centre. MIC has dispatched a team of three Danish coastal and marine pollution experts to assist the Lebanese authorities in the assessment and the cleanup operations. Norway has donated nine metric tons of equipment through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to remove the oil pollution. Other member states have also informed the MIC of possible assistance to Lebanon through private channels. The Mediterranean Oil Industry Group, a regional network of industry experts in oil spill response, has also been contacted. But assistance can only be delivered when hostilities cease. As far as movement of any possible oil slick at sea is concerned, MAP is obtaining satellite images from several sources. However, says Mifsud, the initial results and the satellite images currently available should only be considered as a preliminary indication of the oil's spread. -------- ACTIVISTS Left-wing activists protest against 'war crimes' at IAF base (08.08.06, 13:31) YNet http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3288146,00.html Some 25 left-wing activists from central Israel protested Tuesday outside the entrance to the Ramat David air force base. They held banners calling to "end war crimes." The protestors called for an immediate ceasefire and release of all prisoners and captives. The protest was held without authorization. Police arriving at the scene from Migdal Hae'mek took 12 protestors into custody for allegedly disturbing the peace, disrupting traffic, and holding an unauthorized protest. Yonatan Pollack, one of the protestors who were detained, told Ynet that the demonstration was held adjacent to the air force base because "war crimes are being committed at this base, it is where planes depart to drop bombs on civilians." He said. Protesters call on pilots to refuse committing 'war crimes' (Photo: Hagai Aharon) According to Pollack, "we are obliged by law to cease these war crimes; otherwise we shall also be viewed as partners to this crime." Pollack added that the war in Lebanon is not a do-or-die war, and that it must be stopped. "This is a war of choice that has nothing to do with the abducted soldiers and the effort being made to secure their release, this war is an attempt to redefine the Middle East." Hagai Matar, a member of the Committee Against War Crimes, also among the protestors, said they had come to block the daily war crimes coming out of the base. He said they had come to demonstrate against the pilots who are guilty of killing innocent civilians and destroying Lebanon's infrastructure. "We totally object harming civilians on both sides, and it is the IDF that is embarking on a war that is also harming Israeli society." Matar said. Talking about the arrest, Matar said they had lain down on the road to block the entrance to the base. "When the police force arrived we told them to arrest the war criminals, but they chose to turn us into war criminals." Police officials said suspects would be investigated and their remand in custody extended by a court of law. Sharon Roffe-Ofir contributed to the report ---- Seven UK Protesters Search U.S. Plane for Israel-Bound Weapons Tuesday, August 8th, 2006 Headlines Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/08/1453221 In Britain, seven anti-war protesters were arrested Monday after trying to get on a plane at a British airport to search for US weapons being transported to Israel. Three people boarded a military plane. Four others were arrested at the airport. The activists were part of the anti-nuclear group Trident Ploughshares. No weapons were found by the group,