NucNews November 14, 2006 -------- NUCLEAR -------- accidents and safety Fire closes nuclear reactor in Sweden November 14, 2006 The Age http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Fire-closes-nuclear-reactor-in-Sweden/2006/11/14/1163266542350.html An explosive fire broke out early on Tuesday at Sweden's biggest nuclear plant, shutting down one of its four reactors, plant officials said. The fire started shortly after midnight in a transformer outside reactor No.3 at the Ringhals power plant, but never threatened the reactor itself and there was no risk of a radioactive leak, plant spokesman Gosta Larsen said. No one was injured. "According to witnesses it was of an explosive nature," Larsen said of the fire. "There was some kind of bang with flames shooting up." The plant's safety systems kicked in as they were supposed to and immediately triggered an automatic reactor shutdown, Larsen said. It was not immediately clear when the 1,000 Megawatt reactor could be restarted. Firefighters stationed at Ringhals, backed by colleagues from surrounding areas, put out the fire in just under two hours. "From a nuclear security standpoint this was not a serious incident. This happened pretty far away from the reactor building," Larsen said. He said the transformer was about 70 metres from the reactor. Ringhals, about 500 kilometres southwest of Stockholm, provides about 18 per cent of the energy consumed in Sweden. In July, two reactors at the Forsmark nuclear plant were shut down after two backup generators malfunctioned during a power failure on July 25. They were restarted last month after officials installed safety improvements. -------- BULGARIA SHUTS DOWN NUCLEAR REACTOR UNITS- KALFIN Tue 14 Nov 2006 Sofia Echo http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/bulgaria-shuts-down-nuclear-reactor-units--kalfin/id_18717/catid_67 Bulgaria will close the third and fourth blocks of Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP), Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said in Brussels. On November 13 the European Commission said that it was going to be firm on the closure dates for the two reactors. In a report European Parliament (EP) rapporteur for Bulgaria Geoffrey Van Orden called for flexible approach concerning the closure dates. The EP lacked the authority to suggest any course of action to the EC, Kalfin said. Bulgaria was going to proceed with the reactor closure as previously agreed, he told Bulgarian National Television. Bulgaria refrained from taking part in several electricity export tenders for Balkan countries because of the upcoming reactor shut down, said Kalfin. Previously Economy and Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov sent a warning letter to the EC, saying that the closure of the reactors could lead to electricity shortage on the Balkans. Bulgaria is among the major electricity exporters in the region and provides export to meet significant part of the energy needs of its neighbouring countries. To meet domestic needs it now had to limit export, said Ovcharov. Despite the fact the country was going to meet EU engagements accepted previously and was going to proceed with the closure of the units by the end of the year, Ovcharov said. -------- depleted uranium Russian Court Fines Korean for Uranium Smuggling (englishnews@chosun.com ) Nov.14,2006 http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200611/200611140031.html A Korean man identified as Kim was fined 500,000 rubles by a Russian court on charges of illegally importing radioactive material to Sakhalin Island. Kim, who runs a company in Korea, was fined by the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk court for smuggling equipment containing depleted uranium he had picked up in Libya into the country in June 2004, prosecutors said. Importing equipment for use in the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant, Kim forged customs documents and told his employees not to declare that the load also contained depleted uranium. Kim was arrested in Dec. 2004 for the incident and paid 3 million rubles to get out on bail. The court’s ruling is effective as of Monday. -------- europe Swedish nuclear reactor shut down for weeks after fire Tue Nov 14, 2006 Agence France Presse http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061114/wl_afp/swedenenergynuclear_061114203218 STOCKHOLM (AFP) - A Swedish nuclear reactor was shut down, possibly for weeks, after a transformer at a power plant caught fire, but no one was injured, Sweden's nuclear energy authority and news reports said. "A fire in a transformer at the Ringhals 3 reactor took place near midnight (2300 GMT Monday)," the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate said in a statement on its website. "The reactor was shut down on an emergency basis, and all security systems worked as they should have." The cause of the fire was unknown, said an inspectorate spokesman, who pointed out that the transformer was located in a separate building located some 50 to 60 meters (yards) from the reactor. The Ringhals plant is located in southwestern Sweden. The reactor was expected to be stopped for at least two weeks, according to Swedish news agency TT. Sweden has 10 nuclear reactors, accounting for almost half of the country's electricity production. -------- india India's nuclear record, Iran links questioned ahead of Senate vote Tue Nov 14, 2006 by P. Parameswaran WASHINGTON (AFP) http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061114/wl_asia_afp/uscongressindiairan_061114233934 A non-partisan US Congressional study has underlined lawmakers' unease over India's non-proliferation record and its links with nuclear renegade Iran, on the eve of a Senate vote on a landmark US atomic deal with New Delhi. The report by the Congressional Research Service raised the issue of whether India had adequate teeth to implement export control regulations in efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. In 2004, the United States imposed sanctions on two Indian scientists for nuclear related transfers to Iran, which is facing sanctions for refusing to comply with UN demands it freeze its uranium enrichment work. The Congressional report by Sharon Squassoni, a national defense specialist, noted that President George W. Bush's administration had not formally responded to claims that India had a "flawed" nonproliferation record in the nuclear area. It also cited allegations that New Delhi had a "poorly implemented" national export control system and an "illicit" procurement system for its own nuclear weapons program, as well as a procurement system that "may unwittingly transfer sensitive information" about uranium enrichment. "Indias nonproliferation record continues to be scrutinized, as India continues to take steps to strengthen its own export controls," the report said ahead of an expected Senate vote this week on the US-India civilian nuclear deal clinched by Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in March. Under the deal, India, a non-signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), would be allowed access to long-denied civilian nuclear technology in return for placing its atomic reactors under global safeguards. To facilitate the deal, the US Congress has to create an exception for India from some of the requirements of the US Atomic Energy Act, which currently prohibits nuclear sales to non-NPT signatories. The US House of Representatives gave its thumbs-up to the deal in July but a Senate vote had been delayed due to legislative elections last week that resulted in Democratic control of both chambers in the new Congress from January. The current Congress is Republican dominated but the party is divided on the Indian nuclear deal. "President Bush has tried to sell this nuclear deal by claiming that India is our natural ally, but as Ronald Reagan once said, 'Trust, but verify.'" said Edward Markey, who co-chairs a House bipartisan taskforce on nonproliferation. "It is clear that on the issue of preventing Iran from going nuclear -- and on the crucial issue of nonproliferation -- India's record is not encouraging," he said. Squassoni suggested that some kinds of Indian support might be more important than others, for example, in backing a diplomatic drive to pursue negotiations with Iran or by coming aboard the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative aimed at containing the spread of unconventional weapons. She said Indias long relationship with Iran and its support of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) positions on nonproliferation "are obstacles" to Indias taking a hard line on Iran. Yet, the Bush Administration, she added, had asserted that US-India nuclear cooperation would bring India into the "nonproliferation mainstream." US weapons experts have warned that forging a civilian nuclear agreement with non-NPT member India would not only make it harder to enforce rules against renegades Iran and North Korea, but also set a dangerous precedent for other countries with nuclear ambitions. -------- iran Iran says it will be ‘fully nuclear’ soon By Gareth Smyth in Tehran Published: November 14 2006 Financial Times http://www.ft.com/cms/s/63f89022-742c-11db-8dd7-0000779e2340.html Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad on Tuesday promised a “celebration of Iran’s full nuclearisation” before the end of the Iranian year next March and said the US and its allies had “finally agreed to live with...an Iran possessing the nuclear fuel cycle”. Mr Ahmadi-Nejad did not explain his claims, which came at a news conference. But he was at pains to defend his record at home and abroad in the run-up to next month’s municipal council elections when his government faces its first nationwide popularity test. The US state department said Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s comments should represent “a cold jolt to the rest of the world”. But a more sober picture of Iran’s nuclear progress was painted by an International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran obtained by the Financial Times. The report, sent out on Tuesday to the governors of the nuclear watchdog, confirms that Iran is now principally using two “cascades” of 164 centrifuges apiece to enrich uranium. This means the country still falls well short of the 3,000 or so centrifuges that would be needed to enrich uranium on an industrial scale. The report adds that between mid-August and the beginning of this month, Iran says it fed 34kg of feedstock into the centrifuges and that this was enriched to a level of 5 per cent – which is suitable for nuclear fuel but not for weapons grade material. Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s news conference, to which the international media was not invited, concentrated on domestic issues as the president responded to criticisms he has faced in recent months, especially over rising prices and unemployment. He claimed foreign investment in the non-oil sector had reached $7.2bn (€5.6bn, £3.8bn) in the first seven months of this year, up from $4.3bn in the whole of last year, and that the government had created 144,000 jobs in small industries. But the president was also keen to assert Iran’s success in developing its nuclear programme, as western powers struggle to even agree a draft sanctions resolution with Russia and China nine months after the issue was referred to the UN security council. Mr Ahmadi-Nejad said he would respond to requests from “many American people to talk to them” with a letter explaining Iran’s policies – even though he received no response when he wrote in May to President George W.Bush. He may be seeking to gain political capital from the belief in Iran’s political class, especially among fundamentalists, that the balance of world power is shifting away from the US. He claimed the “the Iranian nation is the most popular in the world...with widening political influence”. While Iranian officials welcomed the Republicans’ defeat in mid-term US elections, they have expressed caution as to whether it will lead to any substantive change in Washington’s policies towards Iran. But at the same time, officials have stressed that the chance of compromise remains. Additional reporting by Daniel Dombey in Brussels -------- israel Israel, US have 'complete understanding' on Iran: Olmert Tuesday November 14, 2006 AFP http://sg.news.yahoo.com/061113/1/44rql.html Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel and the United States had "complete understanding" on Iran, as President George W. Bush threatened to isolate Tehran unless it suspends its nuclear programme. Bush said that if Iran continues with its programme, which the United States and Israel believe is aimed at developing an atomic bomb despite Iran's denials, "there has to be a consequence for their intransigence." "If they continue to move forward with the program, there has to be a consequence," he said, speaking to reporters following an hour-long talk with Olmert at the White House. "And a good place to start is working together to isolate the country," he said, branding a nuclear-armed Iran as an "incredibly destabilizing, and obviously very threatening to our strong ally," Israel. Olmert said that he had a "deep conversation" with Bush and that the two leaders had "complete understanding over their objectives" regarding Iran. Backed by the United States, Israel has said sanctions are necessary following Tehran's failure to suspend uranium enrichment. The president, who used the meeting with Olmert to divert attention from the situation in Iraq and his Republican Party's humiliating defeat in last week's midterm elections, also rejected direct talks with Tehran unless it freezes its nuclear plans. "If the Iranians want to have a dialogue with us, we have shown them the way forward, that is, for them to verifiably suspend their enrichment activities," Bush told reporters at the White House. Speaking in Hebrew after the meeting, Olmert said that "our position is that we must do everything in our power to make sure the Iranians do not cross a technological threshold that would allow them to develop nuclear weapons." Israel -- widely considered the Middle East's sole, if undeclared, nuclear weapons power -- considers Iran its chief threat, pointing to calls from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map. After the meeting Olmert also said that Israeli and US officials discussed ways to kick start the stalled Middle East peace process. "The Americans and us have been exchanging ideas that could allow positive developments regarding future negotiations between us and the Palestinians," Olmert told reporters. That "intensive dialogue ... includes exchanging ideas and thoughts on ways to promote conditions that would allow negotiations with the Palestinians," he said. Olmert said he remained attached to the internationaly-backed "roadmap to peace" based on Bush's vision of a Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel. Earlier on US television, Olmert said he hoped diplomacy would dissuade Tehran from pursuing its nuclear program. "We will not tolerate the possession of nuclear weapons by Iran," he told NBC television. Asked whether his country was considering a preemptive strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, Olmert answered: "I hope we don't have to reach that stage." But the Israel leader said his first choice is a negotiated resolution. "Every compromise that will stop Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities, which will be acceptable to President Bush, would be acceptable to me." Asked what he believed to be the timeline for Iran developing possible nuclear weapons, Olmert responded, "it's a matter of, unfortunately, shorter time than most people think." "I don't want to measure it in days or weeks, but it's quite close," he said. Olmert added that he was not seeking Washington's protection from Tehran. "I am not coming to the United States to ask America to save Israel," he said, saying his country had drawn the lessons of the Holocaust and World War II. The Israeli leader added: "I am not looking for wars or confrontations. I am looking for the outcome." He added that, in his view, the only result that matters is "whether it will succeed to stop Iran from possessing nuclear weapons." On Sunday, Olmert reiterated Israel's position that Iran should be intimidated into halting its nuclear programme. "Iran will not agree to make compromises if it is not afraid of the options it would face in the absence of a compromise," Olmert told reporters. He hinted that "Israel has options which I am not ready to specify" regarding Iran's nuclear programme. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday that Washington no longer sought direct contacts with Iran to discuss ways to ease unrest in neighboring Iraq, saying that channel of communication "didn't work out." "We went through a period where there was an offer of that channel of communications," McCormack said. "It didn't work out for a variety of different reasons," he said. ---- Olmert draws fire in U.S. over praise of Iraq war By Aluf Benn and Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies 14/11/2006 http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/787238.html WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush, speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, called Monday for the world to unite in isolating Iran until it "gives up its nuclear ambitions." In addition, Olmert publicly praised the American operation in Iraq, which he said brought stability to the Middle East. Politicians from the Democratic Party said they wanted to speak to Olmert about his comments on the Iraq war before responding publicly, but said they were uncomfortable with the comments. If Olmert planned his remarks and intended them to come out as they did, a Democratic official said, then they are not acceptable and can be seen as an attempt to influence the American political dispute. On Iran, Bush, in White House remarks to reporters, said, "If they continue to move forward with the program, there has to be a consequence. And a good place to start is working together to isolate the country. And my hope is that there are rational people inside the government who recognize isolation is not in their country's interest." "It's very important for the world to unite to say to the Iranians, 'If you choose to continue to move forward, you will be isolated,'" Bush said. "One source of isolation would be economic." The U.S. president said if the Iranians want to have a dialogue, "We have shown them a way forward," referring to the American-European demand that Iran halt enrichment. He also said it's important to convince Iran that isolating the country is an international position rather than an Israeli or an American one. "Iran's nuclear ambitions are not in the world's interest," Bush said. "If Iran had nuclear weapons, it would be terribly destabilizing." His prescription for dealing with Iran was diplomatic, having the United Nations impose sanctions to force Iran to stop uranium enrichment. Diplomats at the United Nations have been bogged down for weeks trying to agree to a resolution that would place some sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt is enrichment. Olmert, accusing Iran of "fanaticism and extremism," voiced support for United States-led efforts to impose UN sanctions on Iran and said Tehran must not be allowed to "cross the technological threshold" to develop a nuclear bomb. Bush and Olmert spoke in the White House for about 45 minutes. Olmert said Israel and other countries in the area should be thankful to the United States and Bush. He said the Iraq war had a dramatic, positive effect on security and stability in the Mideast, as well as having strategic importance from Israel's perspective and that of moderate Arab states. Olmert said he was satisfied with the position Bush took on Iran, which went further than in their previous meeting in May. "Iran's role in the conversation was quite clear, very serious and very significant, and I left this meeting with an outstanding feeling," said Olmert. Tehran's goal is to "ultimately wipe Israel off the map," Olmert said on NBC television's "Today" show. "The whole world has to join forces in order to stop it. This is a problem of every country. I know that President Bush is fully aware of that." On the Palestinian question, Bush and Olmert reiterated their previously stated positions. Bush said the two leaders discussed their commitment to the two-state solution and the need for the Palestinian government to adopt the road map and the Quartet principles: recognizing Israel, renouncing terror and abiding by previous agreements. Olmert said he was prepared to have "serious dialogue" with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and that he would make every possible effort to help Abbas begin such a dialogue with Israel. Olmert said he hoped there would be a new Palestinian government based on the road map and the principles of the Quartet (the U.S., European Union, UN and Russia). Olmert later said that the U.S. and Israel have been engaged in "intensive dialogue" over the last few weeks and have been exchanging ideas about advancing the Palestinian channel for talks. He did not go into details, but said there would not be an international conference, which he appears to oppose. In response to a question about whether the United States had asked him to moderate military activity in Gaza, Olmert said he didn't recall a specific request but that it might have been raised during the meeting. He said Bush expressed pride in the American veto at the UN Security Council regarding a condemnation of the Israeli shelling of the Gaza town of Beit Hanun. The issue of evacuating outposts was not raised during the meeting with Bush or during Olmert's meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday, Olmert said. ---- Israel Detonated a Radioactive Bunker Buster Bomb in Lebanon Tuesday, 14 November, 2006 Ya Libnan http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2006/11/israel_detonate.php Beirut - What kind of weapon leaves traces of radiation & produces such lethal & circumscribed consequences? The special report was triggered by the radioactivity measurements reported on a crater probably created by an Israeli Bunker Buster bomb in the village of Khiam, in southern Lebanon. The measurements were carried out by two Lebanese professors of physics - Mohammad Ali Kubaissi and Ibrahim Rachidi. The data - 700 nanosieverts per hour – showed remarkably higher radiocativity then the average in the area (Beirut = 35 nSv/hr ). Successivamente, on September 17th, Ali Kubaissi took British researcher Dai Williams, from the environmentalist organization Green Audit, to the same site, to take samples that were then submitted to Chris Busby, technical adisor of the Supervisory Committee on Depleted Uranium, which reports to the British Ministry of Defense. The samples were tested by Harwell’s nuclear laboratory, one of the most authoritative research centers in the world. On October 17th, Harwell disclosed the testing results - two samples in 10 did contain radioactivity. On November 2nd, another British lab, The School of Oceanographic Sciences, confirmed Harwell’s results – the Khiam crater contains slightly enriched uranium. Rainews24 also took a sample taken by Dai Williams for testing by the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Ferrara. The testing - which is still ongoing - found an anomalous structure: the sample’s surface includes alluminium and iron silicates, normal elements in a soil fragment. Yet, looking inside, estremely small bubbles can be found with high concentration of iron. Further testing will clarify the origin of these structures: what seems to be certain at the moment is that they are not caused by a natural process. What kind of weapon is this? What weapon leaves traces of radiation and produces such lethal and circumscribed consequences? Researcher Dai Williams believes this is a new class of weapons using enriched uranium, not through fission processes but through new physical processes kept secret for at least 20 years. Physicist Emilio del Giudice form the National Institute of Nuclear Phisics came to the same conlcusion: “There are two ways to explain the origin of the enriched uranium found in Khiam: About the origin of enriched Uranium there are two possibilities: 1) this material was present already in the structure of the bombs, but I am puzzled since one should explain the rationale of the use of a material which is both expensive and dangerous , because of its enhanced radioactivity, to people handling it , including military personnel of Israeli Army. 2) the enrichment has been the consequence of the use of the bomb; this possibility is hardly compatible with the known effects of conventional nuclear weapons and should imply that some newly discovered nuclear phenomenon could be at work. The Israeli army denied the use of uranium-based weapons in Lebanon. So, how can people defend themselves from potential uranium-related harm? What precautions will the Unifil troops in the area take, and what kind of testing has been carried out to prevent the risks? The documentary directly covers those qestions. -------- -------- japan Japanese leader says he'll stop discussing nuclear weapons TOKYO, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/2006/061114112641.zi7jcu1b.html Senior policymaker Shoichi Nakagawa promised Tuesday to stop making controversial calls for Japan to consider nuclear weapons but said the country still must address the North Korean threat. Nakagawa, the policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, alluded to changes since he first made his statement on nuclear weapons, including North Korea's agreement to return to six-nation disarmament talks. "I said I will suspend the nuclear debate for a while but I believe the issue of the threat to Japan has to be discussed," Nakagawa told a small group of French journalists. After North Korea tested an atom bomb last month, Nakagawa called for Japan to debate whether to develop nuclear weapons -- a longtime taboo in the only country to have been attacked with atomic bombs. His statement was supported by Foreign Minister Taro Aso. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a conservative who is close to Nakagawa, has rejected even considering the nuclear option but said his aides had the right to speak out. "I have never denied my own comments. But after I spoke there have been changes in the North Korean situation along with the US midterm vote results," Nakagawa said. "After considering these changes in the international environment, I am changing my stance." US President George W. Bush's Republican Party suffered a severe defeat to the rival Democrats in congressional elections last week. Bush has branded North Korea part of an "axis of evil" and refused bilateral talks with Pyongyang -- an option favored by many Democrats. Nakagawa said Japan, like the Bush administration, preferred the six-nation format, which includes China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. "It's no good," he said of bilateral talks. "The basis of the negotiations is the six-party talks." Nakagawa's calls for a nuclear debate have set off criticism from neighboring countries, with Russia warning of a regional arms race. Abe has refused calls from the opposition to sack Aso, the foreign minister, to show his commitment against nuclear weapons. Abe, Japan's first premier born after World War II, has supported a larger military role for Japan including rewriting the US-imposed 1947 pacifist constitution. His cabinet on Tuesday reiterated its stance that Japan has the legal right to nuclear weapons even though it will not pursue the option. "Purely from a theoretical viewpoint, the possession of a necessary minimum of nuclear weapons does not necessarily mean that it violates Article 9 of the constitution" which bans the use of force in solving international disputes, said a statement approved by the cabinet. But the statement, issued in response to a question from a parliament member, said that the cabinet "does not have the intention of discussing the need to review the non-nuclear principles." It was referring to Japan's 1967 policy of refusing the possession, production or presence of nuclear weapons on its soil. US nuclear bombs obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final days of World War II, killing more than 210,000 people. -------- terrorism Al-Qaida plotting nuclear attack on UK, officials warn Tuesday November 14, 2006 Vikram Dodd The Guardian(UK) http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1947295,00.html British intelligence officials believe that al-Qaida is determined to attack the UK with a nuclear weapon, it emerged yesterday. The announcement, from an officially organised Foreign Office counter-terrorism briefing for the media, was the latest in a series of bleak assessments by senior officials and ministers about the terrorist threat facing Britain. UK officials have detected "an awful lot of chatter" on jihadi websites expressing the desire to acquire chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. Asked whether there was any doubt that al-Qaida was trying to gain the technology to attack the west, including the UK, with a nuclear weapon, a senior Foreign Office counter-terrorism official said: "No doubt at all." The official explained: "We know the aspiration is there, we know the attempt to get material is there, we know the attempt to get technology is there." The warning comes after a speech last week by the foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, on the terrorist threat facing the UK, and a rare public outing for Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the head of MI5, who warned that there were at least 30 active plots to attack Britain. With new counter-terrorism measures to be unveiled in tomorrow's Queen's speech, the weekend saw Gordon Brown back an extension to the time for which terrorism suspects can be held without charge, beyond the current 28 days. The senior Foreign Office official said that the US and Russia had within the past fortnight signed an agreement to toughen nuclear counter-proliferation measures. Last week a British man, Dhiren Barot, was jailed for at least 40 years after pleading guilty to plotting attacks against the UK and US, including the use of a "dirty bomb". Such a device would spread low-level radiation, primarily causing panic among the public. In last week's case the plan would have needed material from 10,000 smoke alarms, leading some to doubt that the plot was viable. For al-Qaida and jihadis, a devastating nuclear attack on Britain, not just the use of a "dirty bomb', would be part of the desire and agenda to cripple the west, sources said. The senior Foreign Office official said: "There are people for whom it would be a triumph for the cause." The network of the rogue Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, which is feared to have sold nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea, was broken up three years ago, but there are fears that other illegal networks may exist. British counter terrorism officials believe plots they have thwarted and plots they claim are being hatched have strong links to Pakistan. They say hundreds of Britons travelled in the past year to Pakistan for terrorism activity, including training in camps and acting as couriers for messages. Officials also believe Britons are taking cash to terrorists in Pakistan. -------- u.s. nuc weapons Nuclear power concerns cloud US emissions benefits Tue Nov 14, 2006 By Timothy Gardner NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-11-14T215853Z_01_N14301829_RTRIDST_0_ENERGY-NUCLEAR-CARBON.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&symbol=&storyID=2006-11-14T215853Z_01_N14301829_RTRIDST_0_ENERGY-NUCLEAR-CARBON.XML&pageNumber=1&WTModLoc=InvArt-C1-ArticlePage1&sz=13 Nuclear power may help the United States cut greenhouse gas emissions one day, experts said, but the industry first must overcome high costs and concern about potential accidents. Advocates have pumped nuclear power as a safe alternative to fossil fuels as concerns about global warming increase. But the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania that required an emergency evacuation of the surrounding area -- and a clean up that cost nearly $1 billion -- still haunts the industry. The scare prompted companies to scrap billion-dollar plants that never provided power. "I'm cautiously optimistic on nuclear, but public opinion turns on a dime," said Jim Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy (DUK.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which is considering building nuclear plants in North and South Carolina. "One bad event anywhere in the world could impact the future of nuclear," he told reporters at an energy conference. Other obstacles include high start-up costs of between $2 billion and $4 billion per new plant, and nuclear waste. Ernie Moniz, co-chair of the physics department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said nuclear power could be a top low-emissions solution, but safe disposal of nuclear waste must be ironed out. Nevertheless, companies are forging ahead with plans to build or provide services to new plants. The 2005 U.S. energy bill offered loan guarantees and other incentives for building new nuclear plants but investors are cautious, said Dan Reicher, president of New Energy Capital, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Energy. "There is some interest on Wall Street, but I would not consider it deep and broad," he said. Unless about 50 new nuclear plants are built in coming decades, nuclear could lose its current 20 percent slice of the power produced in the United States, according to the the Nuclear Industry Institute. The U.S. Department of Energy aims to have about 25 new nuclear plants built by 2020. Duke and 11 other companies have begun the permitting process for 31 new U.S. nuclear plants. General Electric Co. and Japan's Hitachi Ltd. said on Monday they will pool their nuclear power businesses in part to build new plants. A private equity analyst on Wall Street said U.S. loan guarantees could help ensure construction of six new nuclear units, or about 6,000 megawatts of capacity, in the next decade. But she said the lengthy permitting and construction process for nuclear could mean it would be a long time before investors see a return. Reicher said that in a decade the U.S. could have one or two new nuclear power plants. In comparison, he said wind power farms of up to 300 megawatts take only 18 months to build. -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- north carolina Progress Energy seeks to renew license for Harris plant Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Associated Press http://www.wcnc.com/localbusiness/localbusiness/stories/wcnc-111406-jmn-progress_nuclear.389d0afa.html RALEIGH, N.C. -- Progress Energy hopes to keep its Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant operating well into the 21st century. The Raleigh-based utility submitted a license-renewal application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission today. The review process is expected to take 22 to 30 months. The plant was granted a 40-year license in 1986. If the NRC approves the renewal, then the plant's license would expire in 2046. The NC Waste Reduction and Awareness Network and other nuclear opponents said they will challenge the review. NC WARN has called Shearon Harris one of the most unsafe nuclear plants in the country, but both Progress Energy and the NRC say that's wrong. The plant is located near New Hill, outside Raleigh. -------- Progress asks feds to renew license for Wake nuclear plant Tuesday November 14, 2006 Triangle Business Journal http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/061114/1375931.html?.v=2 Raleigh utility giant Progress Energy has asked the government agency that regulates nuclear power plants to renew the operating license for its Wake County plant through 2046. Progress officials submitted the license-renewal application for its Harris Nuclear Plant to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday. Progress says Harris is a critical component of its ability to provide electricity for 1.4 million customers in North and South Carolina. The NRC, which oversees nuclear plant operations and safety, granted the Harris Nuclear Plant a 40-year license in 1986. The original operating license is still applicable for 20 more years, or through 2026, says Harris spokeswoman Julie Hans. If approved, the latest license-renewal application would grant Progress the right to operate at the Harris plant through 2046, Hans says. "NRC allows nuclear plants in the U.S. to file for renewals 20 years in advance," Hans says. "If we have the opportunity to lock up this resource for our customers in advance, we're going to do that." The license renewal process involves an assessment by the NRC of the plant's operating equipment, maintenance programs and equipment testing and replacement programs. The plant will also undergo an environmental review to determine what potential impact the plant could have on the surrounding environment if operation is maintained. The NRC's review is expected to last between 22 and 30 months, Progress officials said in a written statement Tuesday. The announcement Tuesday comes about two weeks after an emergency siren system at the plant malfunctioned in tests on consecutive nights. The siren system, a network of 81 sirens that are supposed to be audible within a 10-mile radius of Harris, would be used in case of an emergency. Progress (NYSE: PGN - News) announced Friday plans to spend $2.5 million for new warning sirens to replace the current system. Plans call for four new sirens to be added to the existing network, according to Progress officials. The company has already replaced the siren system at its Brunswick Nuclear Plant in eastern North Carolina. That project carried a price tag of about $1.2 million, less than the Harris project because of Brunswick's proximity to the ocean. -------- ohio Higher cost raises questions about centrifuge project Tuesday, November 14, 2006 DAYTON, Ohio (AP) http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=319267&Category=13 The cost of building a proposed uranium-enrichment plant in southern Ohio is running higher than previously estimated, raising questions about the future of the project, the Dayton Daily News reported Tuesday. The American Centrifuge project, located at an old atomic weapons plant near Piketon, would be used to produce fuel for nuclear reactors by 2011. USEC Inc., the Bethesda, Md., company that wants to build the plant, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month that costs are running “significantly higher” than a prior estimate of $1.7 billion. “These cost increases could make the project uneconomic,” USEC said in its filing. “We cannot assure investors that efforts that we take to mitigate cost increases will be successful or sufficient, and cost increases could jeopardize our ability to successfully finance and deploy the American Centrifuge project.” USEC spokeswoman Elizabeth Stuckle said the wording was included in a “risk factors” section of the company’s filing, something that is required by the SEC to warn investors of the worst possible scenario. “We fully expect to secure the financing and deploy the American Centrifuge project,” Stuckle said. The project would consist of 12,000 towering centrifuge machines rising 43 feet in the air. The machines generate power by separating uranium isotopes with centrifugal force. The project would also generate tons of radioactive waste — enough over 30 years to fill 41,000 cylinders weighing about 14 tons apiece, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. USEC announced Oct. 10 that its centrifuges exceeded performance expectations at early tests in Oak Ridge, Tenn., but full performance and reliability data won’t be available until mid-2007. USEC said it plans to start running uranium hexafluoride gas through its test machines in Piketon later this month. On the Net: http://www.usec.com/ ---- Costly centrifuge plan key to Piketon revival By Tom Beyerlein and Lynn Hulsey Staff Writers Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Dayton Daily News http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/special-reports/piketon/2006/11/14/ddn111406pkcentrifuge.html PIKETON — Hidden from public view on the grounds of an old atomic weapons plant in south central Ohio, scientists and engineers are testing machines they hope will fuel a worldwide nuclear renaissance. If the project succeeds, the tiny Appalachian town of Piketon could be at the doorstep of the world's most efficient uranium enrichment plant by 2011. Its product: fuel for nuclear reactors from New Jersey to Japan. But engineering problems, delays and spiraling costs could doom the company's plan for the American Centrifuge Plant before it gets off the ground. USEC Inc. of Bethesda, Md., warned this month in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that costs are running "significantly higher" than a prior estimate of $1.7 billion. "Cost increases could jeopardize our ability to successfully finance and deploy the American Centrifuge project," the company said. Without the project, "our business may not remain viable." USEC says the American Centrifuge is vital to national security and energy independence — it would be the only American-owned uranium enrichment plant in a nation that depends on nuclear energy to power one in five homes and businesses. It could also help revive the site of the closed Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Piketon, pump hope into a beleaguered section of Ohio and place the state at the forefront of a resurgence of nuclear reactor construction being pushed by President Bush and some members of Congress. "It's clear that there is going to be a nuclear renaissance — the stage is set," said USEC spokeswoman Elizabeth Stuckle. "We are going to be a part of that global expansion of nuclear power." But the project hinges on commercially untested technology, the ability of a relatively small company to raise huge amounts of capital and the vagaries of the worldwide energy market. It would also generate tons and tons of radioactive waste — enough over 30 years to fill 41,000 metal cylinders weighing about 14 tons apiece, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. All of that waste — added to the 20,000 cylinders already piled up at the plant — would have to be converted to a more stable form before it can be hauled away. USEC, one of four major suppliers of enriched uranium in the world, wants to update the Piketon plant's 1940s-vintage technology with centrifuges based on classified federal research. The plant would replace the nation's only remaining enrichment facility, the USEC-run gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Ky., and operate on 95 percent less electric power. The American Centrifuge would consist of 12,000 machines towering 43 feet in the air. The machines separate uranium isotopes with centrifugal force, creating a power source that can be used for electricity — or bombs. This same centrifuge technology, leaked on the black market, enabled North Korea to successfully test its first nuclear weapon on Oct. 9. The same technology has led the United Nations to consider sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend its uranium enrichment efforts. The stakes are high. If USEC fails at Piketon, it could lead to a corporate takeover or costly taxpayer bailout. It could also leave the U.S. dependent on foreign countries such as Russia for nuclear fuel, warns Ohio's governor-elect, Rep. Ted Strickland, a Lisbon Democrat whose congressional district once included Piketon. Russia currently supplies half of USEC's enriched uranium. "We now find ourselves in a position where a huge percentage of our nuclear fuel comes from Russia," Strickland said. "We talk about being held hostage by the Middle Eastern countries for oil. Well, my God, we could be held hostage by Russia for our nuclear fuel." 'Show me the technology' The plant has cleared several regulatory hurdles, and the NRC appears likely to grant USEC a construction and operating license in early 2007. In May, the NRC ruled that the new plant wouldn't have any significant negative environmental impact. USEC and federal officials say centrifuges are safer than gaseous diffusion because they operate in a vacuum, inhibiting leaks. Centrifuge workers also don't have to handle uranium hexafluoride in its dangerous liquid state. Centrifuges have been used around the world for decades, but USEC claims its super-tall, ultra-fast centrifuges will allow the United States to become the world leader in enrichment technology. Ironically, the design was first developed and tested by the Energy Department at Piketon, then abandoned in 1985. Experts say the very qualities that make the design efficient — speed and height — also make the machines prone to costly breakdowns. Energy consultant John Longenecker, who headed the government's former centrifuge program, said USEC's odds of success are "less than 50-50." He said it's questionable that USEC will find financial backing for the largely unproven design of its centrifuges. USEC is struggling on many fronts: • The company announced Aug. 2 that problems in manufacturing centrifuge prototypes will delay the release of centrifuge test results by nearly a year. The delay could push back the entire project and cause further mushrooming of the plant's costs. • USEC's ability to finance the American Centrifuge largely depends on its lucrative contract to sell diluted uranium from old Soviet nuclear warheads to utilities. A USEC monopoly on selling Russian uranium on the U.S. market will end by 2009 if the Russian government gets its way, punching a giant hole in USEC's revenue stream. • Electricity to run the behemoth Paducah, Ky., plant is USEC's biggest operating cost, and it just got costlier. Paducah's electric bill jumped 50 percent last summer, but USEC couldn't pass on the costs to its customers because its rates are mostly locked in under long-term contracts. USEC says its gross profit margin could plunge from an estimated 16 percent this year to less than 5 percent in 2007. • Standard & Poor's this year slashed USEC's credit rating deeper into junk territory, making it more expensive for the company to borrow money for the centrifuge project. S&P questioned USEC's ability to raise the enormous sums it needs for the Piketon plant, citing the commercially unproven technology and competition from a European-controlled consortium that has already broken ground on a centrifuge plant in New Mexico. "Whether USEC will ever really deploy viable technology is anybody's guess," said Richard Miller, policy analyst and lobbyist for the watchdog Government Accountability Project. "That's my glib response to USEC: Show me." In its corporate reports, USEC tries to do just that. USEC announced Oct. 10 that its centrifuges exceeded performance expectations in early tests at Oak Ridge, Tenn., but full performance and reliability data won't be available until mid-2007. USEC said it plans to start running uranium hexafluoride gas through its test machines at Piketon this month. Officials at the $1.5 billion company insist the American Centrifuge project is in full gear. "No, it's not dead, it's not slowing down," Stuckle said. "Any speculation that is negative is purely unfounded speculation." She downplayed the significance of project delays in interviews with the Dayton Daily News. "There were a few components that we weren't satisfied yet with their efficiency level and thought we could make more efficient," Stuckle said. "So rather than rush ... we chose to take time to get it right." Over the past couple of years, USEC has put its money on the American Centrifuge — slashing jobs, suspending its dividend and even reducing office space at its headquarters in Maryland. USEC maintains that the American Centrifuge will not only reduce its electricity burden, but require fewer workers — 500 compared to the 1,400 at the existing Paducah plant. Demand for enriched uranium is also likely to accelerate. The government is offering billions of dollars in federal risk insurance to spur new reactor construction. U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield, who chairs a House subcommittee on energy, said he expects 19 applicants to seek approval for 26 new reactors next year. Even if no new reactors are built, USEC says the American Centrifuge would still be needed to replace its Paducah plant. The company says the centrifuge buildings' modular design will also allow for easy expansion should a resurgence take hold. "(USEC is) facing a lot of negatives over the next few years," industry analyst Paul Clegg said. "(But) if they're survivors and they get to centrifuge ... suddenly your gross margins go through the roof." Clegg said the electricity savings should make the American Centrifuge profitable. Still, because of the enormous startup costs he believes the federal government will have to prop up USEC with loan guarantees or other aid within a year. U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said he thinks the centrifuge project will succeed. But if USEC can't make the project work financially, Voinovich said he would oppose any government bailout. "If it didn't go forward, which I'm confident it will go forward, we'd have to take a look at where we are and determine whether or not we've got the facilities here in this country to get the job done," he said. Secret meetings and corporate intrigue The United States was the first world power to unlock the mysteries of atomic power, but its uranium enrichment technology has changed little since the 1940s. The government started a centrifuge development program in 1960, and broke ground in 1979 on a centrifuge plant at Piketon that was to be the next generation of technology. But that same year, warning lights flashed in the Pennsylvania night, and growth in the U.S. nuclear industry ground to a halt. There were no deaths or injuries, but the partial core meltdown at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 power plant set off alarms in the national consciousness about the dangers of nuclear power, and there hasn't been a single new order for a reactor in the United States since. The government's $3.4 billion centrifuge plant was tested and functioning at Piketon by 1985. But the Energy Department dropped the program, partly because Three Mile Island had put a chill on the industry. Officials changed course, pursuing a laser-based technology called AVLIS, short for Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation. Several years later, the government put into motion a process to get out of the uranium enrichment business altogether. America's biggest government privatization was hugely controversial because it turned the dangerous nuclear technology over to USEC, along with 50 years worth of federal investment. Now, years later, the fate of the centrifuge project — and the competitiveness of the country's enrichment industry — may hinge on USEC's ability to pull it off. Strickland said he never bought the arguments for privatization, that it would save money and improve efficiency. "I always felt the government, Uncle Sam, was going to pay, regardless of whether it was a private entity," he said. "It was never a good deal for the American people." It was, however, a good deal for William H. "Nick" Timbers, the man picked to head USEC. How Timbers in a few years went from earning a $325,000 salary to pulling down $2 million in salary, bonuses and stock options is a tale of secret meetings and corporate intrigue. The Energy Department initially hired Timbers as a consultant. As a first step toward privatization, Timbers pushed for the creation of a government company: U.S. Enrichment Corp. The government company then picked Timbers as its CEO. Although it was government-owned, USEC operated much like a private entity. Not only did the board close its meetings to the public, it kept the minutes from those meetings private — so private that even Strickland, a U.S. congressman, couldn't get access to them. By 1998, USEC's board had a choice: sell the government company to one of two business groups — one of which included corporate giant Lockheed Martin Corp. — or spin off a for-profit corporation headed by Timbers. Although he stood to gain from the board's decision, Timbers was given a waiver to attend the closed-door meetings where the alternatives were discussed. In a decision that still rankles critics including Strickland, Timbers got the nod to head the for-profit corporation that would take over the government's enrichment business. "It was a deal made to enrich insiders," Strickland said. "This was the most frustrating experience I've ever had with government." Stock sales at USEC's initial public offering helped pump $1.9 billion into the U.S. Treasury. In return, USEC walked away with the government's long-term supply agreements with utilities, a valuable stockpile of uranium, cheap leases on the Piketon and Paducah plants, and the rights to commercially develop billions of dollars worth of classified government research into lasers and centrifuges. The company was also the government's sole agent for Megatons to Megawatts, a historic program to keep old Soviet warheads out of the hands of terrorists by diluting them for reactor fuel. "It's an absolutely terrific non-proliferation program — one of the best," said Leonard S. "Sandy" Spector, deputy director of the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies in Washington. "It has taken a large amount of weapons-grade material and rendered it unusable for weapons." The Russian fuel deal is central to USEC's ability to finance the Piketon centrifuge project. USEC supplies low-enriched uranium to about 150 reactors worldwide, with about half of its supply coming from the Russian agreement. That agreement expires in 2013, and the Russians say they won't extend it. The Russians also want the United States to drop an import duty that prevents them from selling enriched uranium to U.S. utilities without using USEC as a middleman. USEC officials admit that the company needs the Russian deals to finance the American Centrifuge. If the import duty ends, they say, the Russians could flood the uranium market, drive down the price and make it difficult for USEC to sell its own uranium at a profit. "This could substantially alter the economics of the American Centrifuge project and our ability to obtain financing for it," the company said in a Nov. 2 SEC filing. Broken promises USEC and some industry analysts contend that the American Centrifuge is needed because other countries are already deploying more efficient enrichment technology. Gaseous diffusion dates to the World War II-era Manhattan Project. Uranium must be "enriched," or concentrated in the fission-producing uranium-235 isotope, before it can cause a nuclear reaction. Depending on the percentage of U-235, enriched uranium can power a major city — or destroy one. Under gaseous diffusion, powdered uranium hexafluoride is heated to a gas and pushed through a series of filters to concentrate the U-235 isotope. It's an inefficient way to create fuel for electrical power because the process itself gobbles electricity. The Piketon plant used up to 1,900 megawatts per hour, enough electricity to power Cleveland. "We used one-tenth of all the electricity used in the state of Ohio at one time," said USEC Field Services Manager Jimmie Conn. When Timbers was vying to be CEO of the for-profit USEC, he assured his board he would replace gaseous diffusion with the cutting-edge AVLIS. Officials of the competing Lockheed consortium doubted AVLIS would work, but Timbers prevailed. "Most people I talked to said you'll see Elvis before you see AVLIS," said Miller, the watchdog who lobbied against the privatization. In February 1999, the newly spun-off USEC reported it was making "significant progress" on AVLIS. But just four months later, with cost estimates rocketing past $2.5 billion, Timbers announced that USEC was dumping AVLIS after the company had made a $100 million investment. Critics say Timbers sold the USEC board a bill of goods with AVLIS so he could seize power, and that the AVLIS debacle set the United States even further behind in its quest for next-generation technology. Timbers says today that AVLIS didn't prove commercially viable and Energy Department scientists "touted it more than it really merited." When AVLIS was canceled, Piketon workers could at least take comfort in USEC's pledge to keep the plant open through 2004. But in June 2000 the company made another stunning announcement: The plant would go dark within a year. Congress, concerned about the loss of 1,200 jobs, stepped in and offered to pay USEC to keep the plant in a state of readiness called "cold standby." So far, the government has spent about $450 million maintaining the closed buildings. The Justice Department is investigating whether USEC overcharged the government by $6.9 million for cold standby-related services. USEC denies the claim. Timbers continued to head USEC until his board fired him "for cause" in December 2004. He sued for wrongful termination, and received an out-of-court settlement of almost $15 million in February. Neither Timbers nor USEC would discuss the termination. Asked about his current activities, Timbers said: "I'm on vacation." Community backs American Centrifuge USEC shut down the Piketon plant in May 2001 and consolidated all gaseous diffusion operations at Paducah. Then, in January 2004, the company chose Piketon over Paducah for the American Centrifuge Plant. The decision came after the state offered $125 million in incentives, and the Energy Department offered USEC its abandoned centrifuge buildings from the 1980s. It also helped that the people of Piketon seemed to want it. Despite a history of pollution and occupational illness at the old plant, 8,000 Piketon residents signed form letters to the NRC and USEC in support of putting the American Centrifuge at Piketon. Blaine Beekman, executive director of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, said a half-century of experience with the plant has given the community a clear-eyed view of its pros and cons. "There is community support for it, but I don't think it's blind support," he said. "Everything has its problems built into it — we've just learned how to live with this one." Still, small numbers of residents and activists continue to speak out against the new plant at public meetings, expressing fears that it could pollute the environment and sicken workers. "I heard it at all the public meetings," USEC spokeswoman Stuckle said. "We sat and we listened to, 'Uncle Ned died in 1977 from his exposure,' and we heard about Aunt Mary in '87, but Uncle Ned and Aunt Mary don't have anything to do with USEC's operation. We want to be viewed for what we've done since we took over operations of that plant, not what someone else did 15 years ago." Industry analyst Clegg said the centrifuge project is crucial for the nation's energy independence and to fuel a nuclear renaissance. He said there's a "very strong political argument for having a domestic source of enrichment. If we don't, we have to depend on foreign companies that may be friendly today, maybe not so friendly tomorrow. "We don't want anybody to be able to hold us over a barrel," he said. "It's very, very important that we get this plant done, one way or another." -------- us nuc waste PFS settlement in works Lawmakers to consider 'discount' proposal Tuesday, November 14, 2006 By Joe Bauman and Lisa Riley Roche Deseret Morning News http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650206992,00.html Lawmakers today will consider a "discount" settlement of nearly $850,000 with attorneys for Private Fuel Storage and the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians, who successfully fought state laws designed to keep out high-level nuclear waste. Members of the Legislative Management Committee can act on the settlement, which was negotiated down from more than $1 million, Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said. "I think it'll be acceptable to the Legislature," Valentine said. "The settlement is a good discount for the state." Meanwhile, the state has filed a new appeal on a separate issue, challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's granting a license for PFS. The Deseret Morning News has learned the amount of the settlement, which covers attorneys fees, is $775,000 for PFS and $68,000 for the Skull Valley Band. The money would come from a fund previously appropriated in the budget for the Department of Environmental Quality. Dianne R. Nielson, executive director of the DEQ, confirmed that the settlement is for attorneys fees but did not disclose the amount. The issue involved state laws severely restricting the transportation of high-level nuclear waste in Utah. PFS and the Skull Valley Band of the Goshute Indians challenged the statutes in federal court, and "we lost that case" before U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell, Nielson said. Following that ruling, the state appealed the matter to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Losing there, Utah officials asked the Supreme Court to review the case; last December, the highest court declined to hear it. The PFS high-level nuclear storage plan appears dead after recent federal decisions refusing to allow construction of the temporary storage site on Goshute land. But the lawyers for PFS and the Goshutes must be paid by the state as winners in their legal challenge. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s office also declined to confirm the amount of money agreed to in the settlement. "The governor is supportive of settling with both the attorneys for PFS and the attorneys for the band," his general counsel, Michele Christiansen, said. "It's a good resolution in the sense the possibility would have been out there the state could have ended up paying more in attorneys fees." And on Monday, Utah attorneys filed a brief appealing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision that allowed the plant's licensing. "Technically, PFS still has a license and we don't want to lose any of the appeals that we have from the nine years of litigating this case," said Assistant Utah Attorney General Denise Chancellor. Utah officials want to challenge the "more egregious NRC decision," she said. The matter was filed with the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. In the earlier case before the 10th Circuit, the judges wrote that PFS and the Skull Valley Band "have properly asserted that their legally protected interests have been injured by the challenged statutes .... "On the merits, we agree with the district court's ruling that the Utah statutes are pre-empted by federal law." State laws passed between 1998 and 2001 would have established state licensing requirements for storing spent nuclear fuel, required county governments to impose restrictions on the material, and allowed the Legislature and governor to regulate road construction to the storage site. Nielson said the state attempted to "provide a framework similar to laws other states have for managing high-level nuclear waste traveling through the state." However, federal law — the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 — takes precedence over state laws, the court ruled. -------- MILITARY -------- africa A bishop prepares volatile Congo for peace Results from last month's disputed runoff presidential vote are due by Sunday. By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor November 14, 2006 http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1114/p06s01-woaf.htm KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO After decades of civil war, Congo may have found its own peacemaker in the mold of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Like the Nobel prize-winning South African archbishop, Bishop Jean-Luc Kuye-Ndondo wa Mulemera has been selected to head a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, aimed at uncovering crimes against humanity, and encouraging forgiveness between powerful gunmen and their victims. But, with final results from last month's disputed presidential runoff due in days and armed factions still roaming the country, Bishop Kuye-Ndondo says his work of reconciliation is still as distant a dream as peace itself. "Peace in Congo is still far away," says Kuye-Ndondo, a sturdy man in a grey suit, sitting in the musty office of a small Pentecostal church in Congo's capital, Kinshasa. "At this stage, the power of the people is more powerful than the power of the gun," he says with a wry grin. "But at the present moment we are playing between the two." Peace in Congo was never going to be easy. After a brutal 1998-2003 civil war in which an astonishing 4 million died, Congo has maintained a tenuous peace under a transitional government made up of the armed factions who had been enemies. Now that parliamentary and presidential elections have been held - and the final results of the presidential elections are expected to be released by Sunday - Congo is holding its collective breath to see if its many armed losers will accept the results quietly, or fight. Violent clashes grip the capital In the past week, tensions have risen as tentative results show President Joseph Kabila well ahead of his opponent, Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba. The country's electoral commission issued provisional results Monday from 156 out of 169 constituencies, giving Mr. Kabila 59.6 percent and 40.4 percent for Mr. Bemba. But Bemba's supporters have cried foul. "According to our calculations, Kabila has 51 percent and we are at 48 percent, but if you take 12 percent in fraud cases, then you can see this changes the vote a lot," says Fidele Babala, the deputy head of Bemba's campaign. "If [election commissioner Apollinaire Malu Malu] doesn't fix these abnormalities, then we will reject the result...." More ominously, trucks distributed leaflets last week throughout the capital, calling the vote a European "imposition" on Congo, and calling on Bemba supporters to reject the vote, with violence if necessary. With street fighting this weekend between police and youths supporting Bemba, Kuye-Ndondo admits that the future is uncertain at best. But while he calls for international peacekeepers to remain in Congo to keep the peace process going, he says that Congolese themselves also bear responsibility for their future. "We ourselves have to work with the political leaders to make the way for elections to take place, and prepare a solid arena where we can talk about peace," says Kuye-Ndondo. "But until there is security, we cannot talk about truth, the truth of what happened. There are some villagers who were victims of crimes, and there are some among the authorities who committed crimes against humanity. There are even belligerents in the office of the TRC itself. That is why we need the international community for some time." Coming from the Swahili-speaking eastern part of Congo, in the region of South Kivu, Kuye-Ndondo has witnessed perhaps more war than many city-dwellers of Kinshasa. "There are many mass graves in the east," says Kuye-Ndondo. "Many cases are brought to us, but we can do nothing without security. We ask them to wait till the times when they can make their case openly, and justice can be rendered." Kuye-Ndondo admits that peace in Congo will take something of a miracle. With rival political factions still armed, with international peacekeepers itching to leave, and with many victims of war crimes uncertain of their future, Congo is teetering between peace and war. Preparing the path to peace "In the past few years, we have been busy mostly on the pacification of communities, to allow for this election to take place," he says. But while the TRC has focused on getting communities to support the peace process, and asking victims' families to set aside their demands for justice, Kuye-Ndondo is preparing for the second and larger part of his mandate, to bring justice to the families of war victims. Kuye-Ndondo has sent out teams to prepare to receive cases, and negotiate deals between victims and perpetrators. But this process cannot even begin, he says, unless foreign peacekeepers extend their missions to provide security, and unless there is a stable government to maintain peace among political factions. Yet, despite the threat of renewed violence, the EU announced Monday that its troops would leave Congo beginning at the end of this month as planned. In this frustrating interim period, between war and peace, Kuye-Ndondo urges his congregants to pray. And the bishop himself knows that even political situations as difficult as the South African transition from white- to majority-rule have succeeded when people of faith, like Archbishop Tutu, step up to take responsibility and action. Referring to the parable of Jesus, that even faith as small as a mustard seed is powerful, Kuye-Ndondo says he believes in miracles. "It is because of my faith in God that I accepted this job, to lead the commission, and I think that God who helped start this peace process from stage one will be with us to the end," says Kuye-Ndondo. "That is the faith that I have." -------- landmines Budget-saving, American-made cluster bombs left vicious legacy in Lebanon By Meron Rapoport Tue., November 14, 2006 Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/787436.html During the second Lebanon war, Israel made use of American-made cluster bombs that left behind thousands of unexploded bomblets, even though Israel Military Industries produces cluster bombs that leave nearly no unexploded munitions. The main reason for the use of the U.S.-made weapons: Israel uses military aid funds to purchase cluster bombs from the U.S., and in order to buy IMI-made bombs, the Israel Defense Forces would have to dip into its own budget. "The consideration is budgetary," a defense related source said. This, despite the fact that each cluster bomblet costs a mere $10. During the war in Lebanon, Israel fired thousands of cluster bomblets, using rockets and artillery shells as delivery systems. In each rocket or shell there could be as many as several hundred bomblets, which are meant to disperse and cover an area of hundreds of square meters, exploding as they hit the ground. According to testimony published in Haaretz, Israel fired at least 1.2 million bomblets through the use of the Multiple Launch System Rocket (MLRS), which can fire up to 12 rockets in 60 seconds. The United Nations estimates that three million such bomblets were fired into Lebanon during the war. The cluster bombs constitute the number one humanitarian problem facing Lebanon after the war because many of the bomblets remain unexploded and as duds, they have turned into make-shift mines, converting towns, villages and fields into undeclared minefields. Since the cease-fire went into effect on August 14, at least 14 civilians, including many children, have been killed by the unexploded bomblets. The United Nations demining unit estimates the ratio of duds in the cluster bomblets fired by Israel could be as high as 30-40 percent. This translates into hundreds of thousands of unexploded bomblets throughout southern Lebanon, endangering the lives of residents and preventing farmers from working their land. Soldiers in the artillery corps told Haaretz that nearly all the cluster munitions fired into Lebanon were American-made. The officially acknowledged ratio of duds is 15 percent, but the U.S. Army acknowledged during the war in Iraq the ratio of duds was closer to 30 percent. The IDF also makes use of older versions of the U.S.-made cluster bombs, whose ratio of duds is even higher. In the 1990s, following injuries to Israeli soldiers by unexploded clusters, a decision was made to develop better munitions at IMI. According to globalsecurity.org, the rate of duds in cluster bomblets made by IMI ranges between 1 percent to 2 percent. In numbers, this translates into one dud out of every 500 IMI-made bomblets, compared to one out of every three in the American-made ones. To date IMI has manufactured some 60 million such bomblets, designated M85, and has exported them to many armies throughout the world. According to IMI "the unique IMI Self-Destruct M85 bomblet ensures that no hazardous duds are encountered by advancing friendly forces. The IMI safety mechanism prevents inadvertent arming of duds by manual means. This requirement is not met by any other bomblet worldwide." According to globalsecurity.org, the cost of each bomblet stands at $10, but defense sources say that even though IMI has been producing this munition for the past eight years, and exports it throughout the world, the IDF does not purchase them. "Israel opts to purchase American bomblets with military assistance funds," the source explained. Israel receives $3 billion in annual military assistance from the U.S., and nearly the entire amount is used to procure American-made weapons. "The considerations are budgetary. There are needs and it is clearly understandable why American weapons, paid for with aid funds, are preferred over Israeli weapons," the defense source said. "But these bomblets are 'friendly' for our soldiers as well, and they are the ones that need to enter the zone that was saturated with cluster bombs," he added. In response the army said that "because of operational considerations, the IDF is unable to comment on the weapons it has in its arsenal. However, it should be noted that the IDF makes use of weapons and tactics that are permissible in international law." -------- prisoners of war Document shows Bush guided CIA on detention By David Johnston The New York Times November 14, 2006 http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/14/news/intel.php The Central Intelligence Agency has acknowledged for the first time the existence of two classified documents, including one signed by President George W. Bush, that have guided the agency's interrogation and detention of terror suspects. The CIA disclosed the existence of the documents in a letter Friday sent from the agency's associate general counsel, John McPherson, to lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union. The contents of the documents were not revealed, but one document, as described by the ACLU, is "a directive signed by President Bush granting the CIA the authority to set up detention facilities outside the United States and outlining interrogation methods that may be used against detainees." The second document, according to the group is a Justice Department legal analysis "specifying interrogation methods that the CIA may use against top Al Qaeda members." ACLU lawyers said they would now press for public disclosure of the contents of the documents. "We intend to press for release of both of these documents," said Jameel Jaffer, a lawyer for the group said in a statement. "If President Bush and the Justice Department authorized the CIA to torture prisoners, the public has a right to know." A spokesman for the CIA declined to discuss the matter. The documents had been sought by the ACLU in a lawsuit filed in a New York federal court under the Freedom of Information Act. The suit has previously resulted in the disclosure of thousands of documents from agencies like the Pentagon, the FBI and the Justice Department. In the past, CIA lawyers have sought to avoid any discussion of whether the agency had documents related to its interrogation and detention practices. The agency has said that national security would be jeopardized in the CIA was compelled to disclose in any way its involvement in interrogations, the ACLU said. In the CIA letter, McPherson confirmed the documents but declined to divulge their contents, on the ground that divulging them would damage security and violate attorney-client privilege. -------- us The Coming Purge at Defense Intelligence By William M. Arkin | November 14, 2006 Washington Post http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2006/11/the_coming_purge_at_defense_in.html Appointed Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Warfighting Support on July 23, 2003, Lt. Gen. William G. ("Jerry") Boykin has surely got to be the longest serving military officer in any posting anywhere. Boykin's three and a half years on the job as putative no. 2 to Under Secretary Stephen A. Cambone is highly unusual for a military that moves general officers from assignment to assignment every 18 months or less. But ever since Boykin was outed as a fundamentalist Christian by yours truly in the Los Angeles Times in October, 2003, he has been stuck in his current job, unpromotable and unmovable. Now there is speculation that with Boykin's protector leaving the Pentagon, the new Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates will clean house, focusing on defense intelligence and the Rumsfeldian encroachment into the territory of the civilian agencies. Boykin should go, but I'm not so sure that the conventional wisdom on military intelligence is on the mark. In October, 2003, I wrote an article in the Los Angeles Times and worked with NBC News to expose what I thought were the extremist views of Boykin, who had recently been promoted and assigned to the Pentagon as the man in charge of intelligence and warfighting policy with regard to the war against terrorism. In a variety of speeches at evangelical churches around America, Boykin, often wearing his military uniform, opined that Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Somali warlords, even Kim Jung Il of North Korea hated America because it was a Christian nation, a nation of believers. This "spiritual enemy," Boykin said in one talk, "will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus." Boykin praised the leadership of President George W. Bush, saying that God appointed Bush as president for "such a time as this." "George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States," Boykin said. "He was appointed by God." It was Boykin's view, though, that his belief in Christianity had trumped Muslims in battle that became the focus of the international media. Describing his experience in Somalia, Boykin said that he knew that "my god was a real god" and that the god of his Islamic opponents "was an idol." The general's personal beliefs seemed to form a world view that undermined and contradicted the arguments of the administration that it was not engaged in a clash of civilizations, that it was indeed not fighting Islam at all. On Oct. 17, after the Los Angeles Times and NBC revelations, the Pentagon issued a statement in which Boykin said he was "not anti-Islam" and apologized "to those who have been offended." The chairman and minority member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia and Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, wrote to Rumsfeld that "public statements by a senior military official of an inflammatory, offensive nature that would denigrate another religion and which could be construed as bigotry may easily be exploited by enemies of the United States." Boykin was defended for his "personal" beliefs, and though the administration, including Rumsfeld, were blindsided with the news of his many church appearances, characteristically the pugnacious defense secretary decided not to yield to public opinion, and a subsequent Inspector General report as to whether Boykin had violated any regulations or laws delivered a scant slap on the wrist. In Washington, the Boykin scandal went away, but out there in the world, Boykin continues to symbolize the war against Islam that the propagandists of the other extreme claim the United States is waging. Jerry Boykin continued on as the top defense policy-maker in charge of the global war on terrorism, specifically the hunt for high value targets. Yet despite the fact that the Pentagon defended Boykin's right to preach and hold whatever personals views he wanted, Boykin also went silent. Since 2003, Boykin has appeared very seldom in public, has given few speeches and has granted fewer interviews. He has become invisible. Now General Boykin will likely become the public face of any purge, and if and when he leaves, the act will be seen as "reigning in" defense intelligence. When Boykin leaves though, if he leaves, it should just be seen as the end of an assignment for a Rumsfeld guy and not the end of some era of defense intelligence. Bob Gates no doubt will want to have his own people and set his own agenda, but much of the criticism of what the defense department is up to is more in the category of not playing well with others. Another element of the Rumsfeld era is that the Rumsfeld stiff-arm has led to polarization and massive misunderstanding. Thank goodness that's over. But I'm mighty uncomfortable with the impulse some have to advance and promote the CIA as some liberal alternative to the big bad Pentagon. The post-September 11, 2001, crime, not just perpetuated by Rumsfeld, has been a level of messianic pursuit of mission and hyper-secrecy that is at the root of overreach. It will be interesting to see whether the American holy war is indeed over. I wish Jerry Boykin the best in his next career. -------- POLITICS -------- investigations CIA acknowledges existence of presidential order authorizing it to detain, interrogate terror suspects overseas RAW STORY Tuesday November 14, 2006 http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/CIA_acknowledges_existence_of_presidential_order_1114.html In response to an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, the CIA has finally acknowledged the existence of a presidential order authorizing the agency to detain and interrogate terror suspects overseas. "For more than two years, the CIA had refused to either deny or confirm the existence of the documents and had argued in court that doing so could jeopardize national security," the ACLU notes in a press release received by RAW STORY. Along with a memorandum written by President Bush to the agency's director, the CIA also referred to a Justice Department legal analysis sent to the CIA's general counsel which specified interrogation methods which could be used against top Al-Qaeda members. However, the CIA wouldn't release either of the documents. "The documents are withheld in their entirety because there is no meaningful non-exempt information that can be reasonably segregated from the exempt information," said the CIA letter signed by Associate General Counsel John L. McPherson (which can be read in full at this pdf link). "The CIA’s sudden reversal on these secret directives is yet more evidence that the Bush administration is misusing claims of national security to avoid public scrutiny," ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero stated in the press release. "Confusion about whether such a presidential order existed certainly led to the torture and abuse scandal that embarrassed America." Romeros argues that "with a new Congress and renewed subpoena power, we now need to look up the chain of command." The ACLU intends to keep pressing until both documents are released in full. "If President Bush and the Justice Department authorized the CIA to torture its prisoners, the public has a right to know," ACLU attorney Jameel Jaffer stated. Excerpts from ACLU press release: # A federal district court upheld the CIA’s refusal to confirm or deny the existence of the two documents, but the ACLU appealed that decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal was argued by Megan Lewis, an attorney with Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione. After President Bush confirmed in September that the United States does indeed maintain secret detention facilities abroad, the government withdrew its opposition to the ACLU’s appeal. However, the CIA said it will withhold the documents in their entirety and file a new declaration explaining its legal basis for doing so. That declaration is expected before November 30. The ACLU will return to court in this case on November 20 to challenge the government’s withholding of 21 images depicting abuse of detainees by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The ACLU argues that the release of these images is crucial to understanding the command failures that led to the abuse. To date, more than 100,000 pages of government documents have been released in response to the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. The ACLU has been posting these documents online at www.aclu.org/torturefoia .... In a related matter, the ACLU will appear at a federal hearing in Richmond, VA on November 28 in the case of Khaled El-Masri, an innocent German man who was kidnapped by the CIA and transported to a secret site in Afghanistan where he was detained and abused. A district court upheld the CIA’s claim that the case could not proceed without disclosing state secrets. The ACLU appealed the decision, noting that accounts of El-Masri’s abduction have already appeared in news reports around the world and foreign governments have launched their own investigations into the matter. More information on the El-Masri case is online at: www.aclu.org/rendition -------- ENERGY -------- alternative energy Ideas to burn at energy forum Industry observers say taxes on greenhouse gases could force technology shift Tuesday, November 14, 2006 By ERIC ANDERSON, Deputy business editor Times Union http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=534927&category=BUSINESS&BCCode=&newsdate=11/14/2006 NISKAYUNA -- Calling regulations to limit carbon emissions "inevitable," energy industry researchers and executives discussed how these limits might change the economics of power production during an energy summit Monday at the GE Global Research Center. "There is no silver bullet with respect to either technology or fuel," said panelist James E. Rogers, president and chief executive of Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy. Instead, his company is working on a range of options, from a new clean-coal plant in Indiana to a nuclear power plant now in the planning stage that would be operational in another decade. Nuclear power plants produce electricity without emitting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. But dealing with the waste is still a hurdle, said panelist Ernie Moniz, co-chairman of the department of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Energy. Wind and solar energy, as well as the use of biomass -- wood chips, corn, even grass clippings -- all have a role to play, several panelists said. But each option has its drawbacks. While the costs per kilowatt-hour of wind energy have tumbled to 5 or 6 cents from 40 cents in 1980, similar gains haven't been realized with solar energy. A kilowatt-hour produced with a photovoltaic cell costs about 30 cents, according to GE researchers. At GE, researchers are using techniques learned from aircraft engine design to build ever-larger wind turbine blades that will capture more wind, and generators that are lighter so more energy can be produced with a turbine. But even wind energy has its challenges. On Monday, a GE scientist illustrating power output at a Texas wind farm was confronted with turbines that weren't turning; there was no wind. So conventional power plants had to kick in to supply the power. Scientists also are studying ways to store power that is generated when the wind is blowing that can be drawn upon when it's not. But many methods -- such as pumping water into a reservoir and then running it back down through a hydropower plant -- are only about 50 percent efficient. That is, half the energy is wasted. Taxing carbon would boost the cost of electricity generated with oil, coal or natural gas. Vehicles wouldn't be immune. GE is designing a city bus that would run on a hydrogen-powered fuel cell and batteries. Right now, a fuel-cell bus costs at least $800,000 while a diesel-powered bus costs just $250,000, said Tim Richter, a GE systems engineer. But "as soon as there's a price put on carbon, it changes everything," he added. Whether the limits on greenhouse gases will lead to a resurgence in nuclear power, however, isn't clear. While GE Monday morning announced a new global nuclear energy alliance with Hitachi Ltd., building new plants in this country is still a challenge. States that will be most receptive, said Duke Energy's Rogers, will be those that already have had good experiences with nuclear power and have regulated energy markets that will allow them to recoup the project costs. "There is some interest on Wall Street," said Dan Reicher, president of New Energy Capital, a private equity fund in Hanover, N.H., that invests in renewable energy projects. "But I wouldn't say it's deep or broad. The jury is still out on this." One energy source that Rogers called "the fifth fuel" is energy efficiency, and he and MIT'S Moniz said more could also be done to make buildings more energy-efficient. "There are some real sleeping giants on the technical side," Reicher said. "Energy efficiency is one of those." Anderson can be reached at 454-5323 or by e-mail at eanderson@timesunion.com. -------- Company ready to give hotfoot to oilsands 'Barbecue' technology alternative to nuclear, Petrobank says Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Gordon Jaremko, The Edmonton Journal http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/business/story.html?id=9a6778b2-3f35-4889-b6bb-2e4c4dda8456&k=7436 EDMONTON - Encouraging early results are flowing in from field trials of a new method that cleans up oilsands production without resorting to controversial nuclear energy, the inventors said Monday. Instead of creating radioactive waste by harnessing the atom, the new process cooks bitumen into flowing, like an underground barbecue that makes its own fuel. "It's up and running right now," Petrobank Energy president John Wright said in an interview, after the firm reported progress on the technology in its quarterly financial statement. A site is being selected and engineering is set to begin early in 2007 for a project by Petrobank subsidiary Whitesands Insitu Ltd. that will use the new system to produce 10,000 barrels per day. The development will be the first stage in planned commercial expansion of testing launched during the summer on 160 square kilometres of bitumen leases in the Conklin area, south of Fort McMurray. The method promises to cut natural gas consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions, achieving cost control and environmental feats that Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. is urging the industry to accomplish by supporting construction of oilsands reactors. Would-be premier Jim Dinning gave the federal Crown corporation a place on Alberta's political agenda by promising recently to consider the nuclear power proposal if he wins the Conservative leadership vote Nov. 25. Petrobank's technology -- branded THAI, short for toe-to-heel air injection -- burns the heaviest 10 per cent of bitumen deposits that turn into charcoal-like coke when heated. The system is named after its appearance, resembling a human foot, in engineering drawings depicting side views of the process. At the toes, vertical wells blast down three million cubic feet per day of air with force about 40 times greater than the pressure in a car tire. The artificial tornado ignites bitumen that is pre-heated with initial steam injections. Each vertical well blows a smouldering "combustion front" or "fire-flood" about 100 metres wide across oilsands deposits. The mobile wall of heat melts bitumen into flowing to the surface through horizontal wells that form the sole and heel of the foot-shaped production system. Carbon-dioxide emissions drop by 50 per cent compared to conventional oilsands production methods using steam injections from gas-fired boilers, Bloomer estimated. The system also virtually eliminates freshwater use, a major oilsands environmental headache. AECL's plan, while curbing gas consumption, would still boil rivers of water for distribution to steam-driven bitumen production plants via a new pipeline network. Petrobank reported its first well pair achieved prolonged cooking at temperatures as high as 800 degrees C and continuous flows exceeding 1,000 barrels per day. Initial output included condensed water left over by the ignition pre-heating phase of the process. But the bitumen content of the flows is rising and the product quality is improving, the company said. "We're way past the point of scratching our heads and wondering if this works," Bloomer said. "We're at the stage of saying, how do we scale this up to commercial production as soon as possible?" gjaremko@thejournal.canwest.com -------- Spain Makes Solar Panels a Must on New Buildings SPAIN: November 14, 2006 REUTERS NEWS SERVICE http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/38965/story.htm MADRID - Solar panels are now compulsory on all new and renovated buildings in Spain as part of the country's efforts to bring its building rules up to date and curb growing demand for energy, ministers said on Monday. Until now Spain's building standards have dated from the 1970s and have done little in seeking to improve energy efficiency. "We have to make up the time we have lost," Environment Minister Cristina Narbona said, inaugurating a seminar on the new technical building code. The code will come into force fully next March but the energy saving element was implemented on Sept. 29. This means new homes have to be equipped with solar panels to provide between 30 and 70 percent of their hot water, depending on where the building is located and on its expected water usage. New non-residential buildings, such as shopping centres and hospitals, now have to have photovoltaic panels to generate a proportion of their electricity. Solar power has not yet taken off in Spain, largely because subsidies have been directed at wind energy, and it provided a negligible amount of the country's electricity in 2005. Other measures in the new building code enforce the use of better insulation, improve the maintenance of heating and cooling systems and increase the use of natural light. "The new standards will bring energy savings of 30 to 40 percent for each building and a reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy consumption of 40 to 55 percent," the Environment and Housing Ministries said in a joint statement. The Housing Ministry is trying to rein in the amount of new building, although it is Spain's local and regional governments that are responsible for planning permission. "In the last decade we have built the equivalent of a quarter of all the urban area that existed until then," Housing Minister Maria Antonio Trujillo told the seminar. The building standards code should limit the damage of continued new construction and is the most significant legal change for the sector in the last 30 years, she said. The construction lobby Asprima estimates that the new requirements will increase building costs by between 8 and 12 percent. Trujillo said this was "absolutely untrue" and that the extra cost was 1 percent, which would be offset by the energy savings achieved. -------- Tyson Foods Wants to Turn Animal Fat into Fuel US: November 14, 2006 REUTERS NEWS SERVICE http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/38949/story.htm CHICAGO - The largest US meat producer, Tyson Foods Inc., produces 2.3 billion pounds of animal fat a year and the company thinks that could be turned into fuel, Tyson officials said Monday. "We believe it's a win for our energy independence, it's a win for our environment, and we believe it will be a big win for our shareholders as well," said Jeff Webster, an official with the company's Corporate Strategy and Development team. Tyson is researching turning the fat into biodiesel because the cost per pound of animal fat is less than vegetable oils. No timetable was discussed on this project but the company is a low-cost producer of animal fat, making it an attractive potential fuel source, Webster said. The company is also looking at converting poultry litter to fuel. Also at the investor conference, Tyson officials said they expect announcements next year regarding joint-venture meat projects in China and South America. "The opportunity here (China) is to expand our current joint-venture footprint and be the first company to offer a full line of poultry products," said Rick Greubel, group vice-president in Tyson's international unit. Tyson is drawn by China's growing economy combined with its large population, he said. In early 2007, Tyson expects to complete a joint-venture poultry operation in Brazil and a joint-venture beef operation in Argentina. In Brazil, low-cost grain, low labor costs, and access to Europe are driving that growth, he said. The company also intends to expand its poultry operations in Mexico. "Per capita consumption is less than 60 percent of the U.S, and is growing per annum and that is in poultry," Greubel said of Mexico. Earlier on Monday, Tyson reported a loss for the fourth quarter of US$56 million, or 17 cents a share. It was the third consecutive quarterly loss, but the company said it expects to post a profit for the current quarter. ---- North Carolina GreenPower Dedicates First Wind Project CLYDE, North Carolina, November 14, 2006 (ENS) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2006/2006-11-14-09.asp#anchor5 What began as a contribution to the environment from one North Carolina family has become NC GreenPower's first wind power project serving the state's electric supply with cleaner, renewable energy. NC GreenPower announced today the addition of a 10 kilowatt (kW) Bergey wind turbine owned by Dr. and Mrs. Louis Mes. The turbine is located in Clyde, a mountain community southwest of Asheville. The electricity it generates is added to the state's power grid through Haywood Electric Membership Corporation, one of 38 electric utilities offering the NC GreenPower program to customers statewide. NC GreenPower is the first multi-utility green power program in the nation. It was created to encourage the development of renewable energy resources, such as the sun, wind and organic matter by individuals and businesses. The Mes family wind project is one of more than two dozen projects across the state supported by NC GreenPower. Projects range from small scale sites such as home-based solar photovoltaic panels and wind turbines to industrial facilities such as landfill methane gas plants. All renewable energy resources are cleaner to use than coal. But because these resources are newer and not yet produced on a scale comparable to a coal plant, their cost to produce is higher. "The NC GreenPower program was created to provide economic incentives for the generation of electricity from renewable resources," said Maggy Inman, vice president of NC GreenPower. "That incentive is over and above what the utility pays for the power and is essential to making these projects viable." The incentives come from voluntary tax-deductible contributions that North Carolina citizens can make through their electric bills. For every $4 contributed to the program, 100 kWh of renewable energy is generated and added to the grid by a supplier located in the state. The 100 kWh generated from each $4 contribution will supply about one-tenth of an average home's power supply. A monthly contribution of $4 for one year, $48, will offset the consumption of nearly 1,000 pounds of coal required to generate the same amount of electricity, says NC GreenPower. The savings in coal also will result in an annual offset of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas released when coal is burned. The offset of carbon dioxide is equal to planting of 190 trees or driving a car 3,000 fewer miles. All contributions to NC GreenPower are tax deductible and go directly to supporting renewable energy generation in North Carolina. For more information visit: www.ncgreenpower.org. -------- ACTIVISTS 21 Greenpeace activists detained in anti-nuclear demo in Turkey ANKARA (AFP) Nov 14, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/2006/061114120249.e7bo66j9.html Turkish riot police Tuesday detained 21 Greenpeace activists as they protested outside parliament against the government's nuclear energy policy, a spokeswoman for the environmental group said. The protestors, wearing black jackets with the nuclear energy symbol and their faces painted white, played dead on the ground while one demonstrator outlined the bodies with chalk. "Nuclear energy is deadly," read a banner carried by the demonstrators. Police took the activists into custody on charges of holding an illegal demonstration after they ignored orders to disperse, Greenpeace spokeswoman Hilal Atici told AFP. The Turkish government plans to build three nuclear power plants with a total capacity of about 5,000 megawatts to become operational in 2012 in a bid to prevent a possible energy shortage and reduce dependence on foreign energy supplies, mainly from Russia and Iran. But the plan and the possible site of the reactor -- Sinop, a coastal city on the Black Sea, 435 kilometers (270 miles) northeast of Ankara -- have triggered protests from residents and environmentalists. Turkey had abandoned earlier plans to build a nuclear power plant in July 2000 amid financial difficulties and protests from environmentalists in Turkey and neighboring Greece and Cyprus. Opponents argued that the proposed site -- Akkuyu, on the Mediterranean coast -- was only 25 kilometres (15 miles) from a seismic faultline.