NucNews November 22, 2006 -------- NUCLEAR -------- africa Congo: Atomic Watchdog Fears Radiation Leak or Terrorist Attack at Reactor Storing Enriched Uranium The IAEA fears a radiation leak or terrorist attack at Kinshasa's nuclear reactor, protected by little more than a rickety gate and a single padlock Chris McGreal reports UK Guardian 11/22/2006 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/117267.html Amid the market stalls, hawkers and gridlocked cars on the road out of Congo’s capital and into the Kinshasa hills there is nothing to mark the way to a nondescript clutch of buildings a few hundred yards down a side street. The dilapidated concrete compound is protected by little more than a low-slung rusted barbed-wire fence and a rickety gate sealed by a single padlock. It would be easy enough to slip through a hole in the fence but there is no need, as the main entrance to what is supposed to be one of the best-guarded sites in Congo is often unmanned. The armed police assigned to watch the compound were not to be seen at the weekend as visitors wandered the corridors of what is Africa’s oldest nuclear reactor facility - and the storage place for dozens of bars of enriched uranium - until finally challenged by a man in a tracksuit who called himself "security". The International Atomic Energy Agency has long viewed Kinshasa’s experimental nuclear reactor as a disaster in the making, either through an accident that releases radiation into the city or because of lax security. There are now three locks to gain access to the reactor and uranium rods, because years ago the director handed over a set of keys to a stranger that included the only key required to get to the heart of the atomic plant. That carelessness is blamed for the disappearance of two rods of enriched uranium in the late 1970s. One is believed to have turned up in 1998 on its way to the Middle East via the mafia; the other was never found. But new locks aside, there is little outward recognition of concern by the world’s nuclear watchdog and among western governments at the prospect of Kinshasa’s reactor catching the attention of terrorists scouring the globe for the right ingredients for a "dirty bomb". The US - which helped found the reactor because Congo provided the uranium used in the atom bombs dropped on Japan - cut off the supply of spare parts to the reactor nearly 20 years ago due to the plant’s decline. Washington has recently tried to persuade Congo to hand over the 98 bars of enriched uranium stored in triangular rods about 60cm (2ft) long and kept submerged in a circular pool underneath a padlocked metal grate or in the reactor. But Congo’s nuclear scientists hope to fire up the reactor again so that it can be put to a range of uses from medical research to mine prospecting, eight years after it was placed on standby because of war, poor maintenance and lax security. At least the facility has entered the computer age. Little more than a decade ago it didn’t have phones and technicians worked on blackboards. "We had to shut the reactor down because of the war," said Alphonse Thiband-a-Tshish, a member of Congo’s atomic energy commission. "But now we have had elections and the war is over we are very hopeful of starting it up again. All the uranium rods are there. Now we have inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency. They find problems and tell us about them." Congo’s nuclear plant was installed at the University of Kinshasa in 1958. A second reactor was built in 1972, the first one dismantled and its dozens of uranium fuel rods stored at the site. The newer reactor was put on standby in 1998 at the behest of the IAEA, ostensibly because of the war with Rwanda. But the agency had watched the reactor deteriorate for years . Diplomatic sources said the IAEA feared that an accident could send radiation into the city and contaminate the water supply. Agency officials have been particularly worried that the reactor is built in an area known for subsidence. Seven years ago one of the walls was pierced by a piece of metal that was variously identified as part of a missile or having fallen from a plane. There is also concern that the Kinshasa plant could make an easy target for terrorists. While it would be difficult to use the uranium rods to manufacture a nuclear device, they would be useful in building a more rudimentary "dirty bomb" that would release radiation. The disappearance of the uranium rods in the 1970s has never been fully accounted for. The reactor’s director, Professor Felix Malu Wa Kalenga, has said that a rod recovered from the Italian mafia in 1999 was probably the one stolen from Kinshasa. The Italian press reported that it was destined for an unnamed Middle Eastern government. For all the concerns, Congo’s atomic energy commission sees a bright future. This month it signed an agreement with a British firm, Brinkley Mining, for the nuclear facility to be used in prospecting for uranium. Working conditions have improved since the IAEA was given access for inspections and programmes focused on safety. That has opened the way for funding from the agency for repairs and new control rooms, which are now being put in place, and from foreign universities for new laboratories. But the IAEA’s own reports say that Congo’s atomic energy commission has failed to meet every target on security and safety issues, such as radiation protection. Mr Thiband-a-Tshish sees no security threat. "We have three keys with three people to get into the reactor. No one knows who has those keys. The building has walls one metre thick. I don’t think anyone could get through those," he said. At a glance • Uranium was first discovered in Shinkolobwe, in the south of what was then the Belgian Congo, in 1915 • In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote to the then US president, Franklin Roosevelt, warning of the danger of Nazi Germany getting its hands on Congo’s uranium • As the single richest deposit in the world, uranium from Congo was a primary source for American research on nuclear weapons during the second world war • The uranium was used in the atomic bombs dropped on Japan • Congo’s Belgian rulers shut the Shinkolobwe uranium mine shortly before independence in 1960, flooding its shafts with water and capping them with concrete • In the chaos of the past decade of foreign invasion and civil war in Congo, the mine has been reopened illegally • Thousands of Congolese make a living by using shovels and their bare hands to hack at the black earth. Primarily they are seeking cobalt, a mineral valuable as a component in mobile phones • Amid warnings that uranium is being distributed as a byproduct, the international nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has tried and failed to inspect the mine • In 2000, Newsweek reported that a Kenyan middleman attempted to sell Congolese uranium to Saddam Hussein but that the Iraqi leader was under too much international scrutiny to buy it -------- australia Taskforce plots nuclear path Stephanie Peatling November 22, 2006 Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/taskforce-plots-nuclear-path/2006/11/21/1163871403099.html AS MANY as 25 nuclear power plants could be built by 2050, producing one-third of Australia's power and slowing the growth of greenhouse emissions, at a cost of more than $75 billion. They might be built in areas that house coal-fired power stations, such as the Hunter Valley. But a nuclear industry would be cost-effective only if a price was put on carbon dioxide emissions, forcing up the cost of electricity produced from coal, a taskforce has told the Federal Government. "If you don't impose a cost on carbon then investment in nuclear power could not proceed and should not proceed," said the chairman of the taskforce, the former Telstra boss and nuclear physicist Ziggy Switkowski. The report did not specify locations for any plants but noted they would need to be near big cities, rivers or oceans, and the electricity grid. It said they might be built near existing coal-fired stations, raising the possibility of nuclear plants in the Hunter and Victoria's Latrobe Valley. The Premier, Morris Iemma, vowed to fight any nuclear push in NSW. The Industry Minister, Ian Macfarlane, said last night the plants did not need to be close to major centres, adding that modern nuclear power stations had lower requirements for both water and proximity to the grid. No plants are likely to be in operation before 2020 because of a lack of skilled workers, the need to create a regulatory framework and winning public support, the taskforce warned. It put the cost of each plant at between $2 billion and $3 billion and said the Federal Government would need to provide some money. These figures did not include the cost of insurance or decommissioning the plants at the end of their lives. The report suggested that if the 25 stations were built, Australia's greenhouse gas emissions would be between 8 and 18 per cent lower by 2050 than if it continued to rely heavily on coal. But emissions would still rise significantly. Scientists have warned emissions need to be reduced by 60 per cent by 2050 if the dangerous effects of climate change are to be avoided. The Prime Minister, John Howard, suggested yesterday no decision on nuclear power would be made before next year's federal election. "We're talking about a debate that is going to go on for some time. We can't expect instant policy gratification," he said. Mr Howard would not say whether he was in favour of as many as 25 nuclear power stations or whether he would introduce a carbon tax. He has previously said another taskforce would examine carbon prices. Because of Australia's abundance of coal, nuclear power is between 20 and 50 per cent more expensive. But this would be changed by introducing a charge on emissions. The Opposition Leader, Kim Beazley, promised no nuclear power stations would be built under a Labor government. "If John Howard is re-elected, we will go down an inexorable course for 25 nuclear reactors … and tens of thousands of tonnes of nuclear waste. If the Labor Party is elected we will go down the path of clean coal and renewables." ---- Campbell won't rule out overriding states on nuclear power Wednesday, November 22, 2006 Australian Broadcasting http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1794992.htm Federal Environment Minister Senator Ian Campbell has refused to rule out the Commonwealth overriding the states to develop a nuclear energy industry in Australia. Some states have expressed concern that the Commonwealth could overrule any state legislation banning nuclear power. Senator Campbell has criticised those opposed to nuclear technology as having a 1960s mindset. He says state governments should tell their constituents how they plan to address climate change without nuclear energy. "They should tell the truth to their constituents," Senator Campbell said. "They can't have it both ways. "You can't say 'I care about climate change' on the one hand, but say 'we're not going to look, even have a debate about nuclear' on the other. "You can't get away with both, it's the most outrageous hypocrisy that you can ever see." ---- Switkowski defends nuclear power decision November 22, 2006 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20801249-29277,00.html THE amount of waste generated by a modern nuclear power plant would be small enough to fit inside a household bathroom, says the head of a task force investigating atomic energy. Former Telstra chief Ziggy Switkowski yesterday released his report on a possible nuclear energy industry in Australia, concluding 25 nuclear reactors could produce a third of Australia's electricity needs by 2050. The report found nuclear reactors would need to be built close to population centres, mainly on the east coast, but that nuclear power would not be competitive with coal unless a price was placed on carbon emissions. Dr Switkowski today attempted to quell community fears about the disposal of radioactive junk, saying modern reactors generated "very little waste". "A typical nuclear power station would probably produce as much waste as would fill maybe a bathroom in a small house," he said on Channel 9. "The design would be to keep that waste on-site at the reactor, but eventually it would have to be relocated to a national depository." Almost all parts of Australia were suitable for such a facility as they were geologically stable and a long way from major population centres, he said. Dr Switkowski said nuclear power had been around for about 50 years and was in use in more than 440 reactors in 31 countries. "Our observation of modern nuclear reactors is that they are very impressive bits of technology, very safe, arguably safer than alternative ... fossil fuel generators, and environmentally (they) don't constitute a hazard," he said. "The world has had a long experience of nuclear electricity but Australia has not." Dr Switkowski rejected Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane's comments that nuclear power plants did not need to be built close to towns or cities. "Reactors should be placed near the big markets ... tens of kilometres away (from population centres)," he said. "They need to be located with access to the national electricity grid. They use water, often sea water, so you'll find many reactors located on the coast. "Some countries have decided to co-locate their reactors with existing generating facilities such as coal power stations. "So that gives you a sense of where Australia's reactors ... might be found." Dr Switkowski said he wanted his report to inform community debate on whether nuclear energy had a role in Australia's future, particularly as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "If there is a price for greenhouse gases of moderate proportions, all of a sudden nuclear and other renewables become competitive," he said. -------- britain Britain To Unveil Plans To Replace Nuclear Missile System by Staff Writers London (AFP) Nov 22, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Britain_To_Unveil_Plans_To_Replace_Nuclear_Missile_System_999.html Britain is to publish proposals by the end of the year on how to replace its ageing nuclear deterrent Trident missiles, Prime Minister Tony Blair told lawmakers Monday. Blair confirmed a question from the leader of the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats Menzies Campbell that the government's position on whether to maintain the Trident missile system would be set out by the turn of the year. He also said he was "sure" lawmakers would get a chance to vote on the issue. "I believe it is important that we maintain the independent nuclear deterrent," he told Campbell during the weekly "prime minister's questions" in the lower chamber House of Commons. The issue of whether to scrap Trident -- which will become obsolete with the four Vanguard class submarines that carry them in the mid-2020s -- is a deeply divisive issue among Blair's governing Labour Party. Scrapping nuclear weapons -- and also nuclear power -- was a totemic issue for the left-wing party in the 1980s but the policy was dropped before the 1997 general election, when Blair's revamped centre-left "New Labour" was elected. Instead, its manifesto pledged to retain Trident. Blair's likely successor, finance minister Gordon Brown, has previously said he, too, is in favour of keeping Britain's nuclear deterrent. But a number of senior ministers, including Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, reportedly have concerns about it. Anti-nuclear campaigners are currently lobbying hard against any replacement, including via an online petition on the prime minister's own website. By Wednesday, there had been more than 2,000 signatories supporting the motion: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to champion the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, by not replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system." -------- china India, China plan to expand civilian nuclear cooperation Jehangir S. Pocha, San Francisco Chronicle Foreign Service Wednesday, November 22, 2006 http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/22/MNGJAMI1CQ1.DTL (11-22) 04:00 PST Beijing -- China and India agreed Tuesday to increase civilian nuclear cooperation during President Hu Jintao's four-day state visit to the South Asian giant that ends Thursday, according to press reports. Even though the deal appeared to be more of a statement of intent, an eventual agreement would foster the exchange and purchase of nuclear technology between the two emerging Asian powers, according to two Indian officials who asked not to be named since they are not authorized to speak to the media. Hu and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also agreed to double trade between the two countries to $40 billion during the next four years. The terms of the China-India nuclear agreement are expected to mirror the terms of the civilian nuclear agreement India concluded with the United States last year, when Singh visited Washington. A nuclear cooperation agreement would mark a new stage in the increasing competition between China and the United States for India's friendship. President Bush branded China a "strategic competitor" soon after taking office in 2001. Since India's burgeoning economy and strong military can tip the balance of power in Asia, both the United States and China have been trying to build closer ties with India, says Sun Shihai, deputy director of the Institute for Asia Pacific Studies at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. "The U.S. always said it wants to use India to balance China," said Sun. "China feels it needs to engage India more (and) develop some kind of Russia-China-India cooperation that can balance U.S. hegemony. So there is some kind of competition happening." Bush's willingness to provide India with new nuclear technology -- while refusing to do the same with India's archrival Pakistan -- was widely seen as a de facto acceptance of India as a nuclear weapons state. Initially, China had criticized the Indo-U.S. deal, saying it violated international nonproliferation principles. India and China had fought a short but bitter war in 1962, and New Delhi had pointed to the threat it faced from a nuclear-armed China when it conducted its nuclear tests in 1998. But Sun said Hu persisted in repairing ties with India because he is committed to a Russia-China-India alliance. And many Indian officials want a deal with China to restore balance to India's foreign policy. "Traditionally, India's always been nonaligned and had an independent foreign policy," said an official in New Delhi knowledgeable about the reported nuclear deal with China. "Recently, India had been moving very close to the U.S., and with this deal India will become equidistant between the U.S. and China." Indian officials also hope closer relations with China will dilute Beijing's close relationship with Pakistan. While Hu is expected to sign a nuclear agreement with Pakistan when he arrives there after his India visit, "the Pakistanis will get much much less than what they want," an Indian official said. -------- depleted uranium Doctors Are Reportedly Fleeing Iraq By VERONIKA OLEKSYN, Associated Press Writer November 22, 2006 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iraqs-doctors,1,6302347.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines VIENNA, Austria -- Iraq's top doctors are under threat and are fleeing the country, leaving hospitals in the hands of medical students or junior physicians, an Iraqi lawmaker said Wednesday. Doctors have been kidnapped and killed since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that toppled ex-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, said Dr. Rajaa al-Khuzai, an obstetrician who is an elected member of the Iraqi National Council. "They have been targeted since the fall of the regime," she told The Associated Press during a visit to Austria. "Some of them have been kidnapped and found dead in the streets, some have been released after paying a ransom." She also told reporters earlier Wednesday that Iraqi hospitals face a shortage of medicines and are in dire need of new equipment. "We were promised, or we believed, that we would have many new hospitals being built, and many health centers ... but none of this has been done," she said. "No hospitals have been built so far; only some of the hospitals have been serviced." "So if you want to see a good ophthalmologist in Baghdad, you'll never find one. If you want a good gynecologist ... you'll never find one," she said. "The health services are very bad." Al-Khuzai also estimated that cancer cases have increased fivefold since the first Gulf War in the early 1990s, and said there is a shortage of medicines to treat patients. "We believe that allied forces at that time used depleted uranium because most of these cancer cases (are) found in the southern part of Iraq, which was close to Kuwait," she said. Breast cancer and leukemia cases have increased most dramatically, she said later. The figure could not be confirmed. Al-Khuzai, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, founded a World Bank-supported project to help Iraqi widows. Her visit to Austria was sponsored by Women Without Borders, a Vienna-based advocacy group for women. The lawmaker, accompanied by her daughter Daliya Falah Shawkat, said "life is very hard" in Iraq with the threat of kidnappings, adding that she limits her public appearances to protect herself and her family. "We almost imprison ourselves, communicating by e-mail if we have power or if we have gas for the generators, or using the mobile," she said. She later described how two fellow women doctors -- including her best friend -- were kidnapped and beaten. Even children of some top doctors are targets, al-Khuzai said. Those who can afford it make their way to the United Arab Emirates or to Jordan, and those who aren't as well off head to Kurdistan, she said. Al-Khuzai also said she has noticed a rise in sectarian violence and speculated that a "third party" -- al-Qaida, Saddam loyalists or a neighboring nation -- could be fueling it. "Until now, I never believed Iraqis would kill each other because we have been living in Iraq as one nation for many thousands of years," she said. "So what happened now? I think, I may be wrong, that there is a third party playing around." Al-Khuzai's daughter, a pharmacist, said Baghdad has become more dangerous for women. She said in recent weeks, an unnamed group has been threatening women in Baghdad dressed in trousers or short skirts. She also said she can no longer take a taxi by herself or shopping alone as she did under Saddam. But al-Khuzai stressed that Iraqis are better off now than under Saddam, and said Iraqis are optimistic about the future. "So far we haven't seen the light at the end of the tunnel," she said. "We believe that we need to keep on moving and we will see it sooner or later but we don't know when." On the Net: http://www.women-without-borders.org http://www.iraqiwidows.org/en_index.html -------- europe Six Nations Plus EU Sign Pact to Build Experimental Fusion Reactor in France November 22, 2006 — By Angela Charlton, Associated Press http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11702 PARIS — Physicists have dreamt about it for decades: harnessing the fusion process that powers the sun to make clean, safe and limitless energy. A multinational pact signed Tuesday may bring that dream a step closer to reality. Seven partners representing half the world's population have agreed to build an experimental fusion reactor in southern France that could revolutionize global energy use for future generations. Yet it is also just an experiment -- a bold, long-awaited, $12.8 billion experiment -- and it will be decades before scientists are even sure it works. The ITER project by the United States, the European Union, China, India, Russia, Japan and South Korea will attempt to combat global warming by offering an alternative to fossil fuels. Controlling climate change and finding new energy sources are urgent goals for a growing global population. "Worldwide demand for energy is expected to double in the next 25 years and we need to diversify our energy supply," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman, during a tour Tuesday of Princeton University's Plasma Physics Lab. Experiments on two reactors at the Princeton lab -- one in use since 1999 and the other under construction -- will be crucial in helping scientists determine how to translate research at the ITER facility into a design for commercial fusion reactors, Bodman said. French President Jacques Chirac hailed Tuesday's agreement as a victory for humanity -- and for France, which widely exports its nuclear energy expertise and beat out Japan in the bidding to host the reactor. The project's director will be Japanese, and Japan will supply the reactor's most complex parts. "The growing shortage of resources and the battle against global warming demand a revolution in our ways of production and consumption," Chirac said. "We have the duty to start research that will prepare energy solutions for our descendants." Physicists have been trying for half a century to create fusion, which replicates the sun's power source, produces no greenhouse gases and generates relatively little radioactive waste. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project, or ITER, recognizes that no single country can afford the immense investment needed to move the science forward. It is expected to take eight years to build the reactor in Cadarache in the southern region of Provence. A demonstration power plant may be ready by 2040, according to project organizers. If the prototype proves viable, it could point the way to designs for commercial power plants. Officials involved in the project say 10 percent to 20 percent of the world's energy could come from fusion by the end of the century. Some experts, though, question whether the project can keep all the promises being made on its behalf. "I would be extremely surprised -- pleasantly surprised -- if there was a prototype" by 2040, said Matthew Bunn, nuclear expert at Harvard University. He said "it's an open question" whether the project is even pursuing the right technology. Still, he said Tuesday's signing was seen as a major boost to physicists worldwide -- even if the ITER never leads to commercial energy. "This is big science at its biggest and will keep many people in the plasma physics community with lots of experiments to do for a long time to come," he said. The project is expected to create about 10,000 jobs. Ivan Oelrich, vice president for strategic security for the Federation of American Scientists, said there is no guarantee the project will lead to designs for commercial reactors. He questioned whether it represented the best investment if the primary goal is to achieve energy independence. "If you took this money and invested it on things like more efficient insulation and windows and got people to drive smaller cars ... you would come out way ahead on your future energy security than you would by pursuing this right now," he said. The European Union has agreed to provide about 45 percent of the 12.8 billion cost of building the reactor, which is expected to take about a decade. The other nations will each contribute 9.1 percent. Bodman said only 20 percent of the United States' $1.12 billion share will be paid in cash. The rest reflects the value of the equipment and labor to be provided by U.S. scientists and technicians. Fusion, which powers the sun and other stars, involves confining hydrogen at extreme temperature and pressure to create a highly energetic gas. At 180 million degrees, the gas undergoes nuclear fusion, releasing energy that can be used to generate electricity. Unlike fossil fuels, which are expected to run short by the end of the century, the supply of the reactor's hydrogen fuel is essentially limitless. Its backers say one quart of sea water would be able to generate energy equivalent to a quart of oil or two pounds of coal. The ITER project has been on the drawing boards for years. It stalled amid concerns about financing and reactor design and, at one point, the United States withdrew, leaving scientists warning the U.S. would eventually have to buy the technology from other nations. The United States never offered to host the project largely because that would require a much larger share of its cost. The seven partners agreed last year to build the reactor at Cadarache, which houses one of the biggest civil nuclear research centers in Europe. The U.S. has given its final approval, though the other partners still must ratify it. French anti-nuclear group Sortir du Nucleaire warned the project will produce radioactive waste and will consume energy in its race to conserve it. "If fusion one day manages to produce electricity, it will surely not be in acceptable economic, ecological and industrial conditions," it said. Environmental activists, who generally oppose nuclear power, have argued the project is too costly and would turn the focus away from efforts to fight global warming. Associated Press reporters Christine Ollivier in Paris, Linda A. Johnson in Plainsboro, N.J., and Tracee Herbaugh in New York contributed to this report. -------- india N-deal makes atomic plants vulnerable: Govt By: PTI November 22, 2006 http://www.mid-day.com/news/nation/2006/november/147085.htm New Delhi: India's proposed civil nuclear deal with the US has made the country's atomic power plants "highly vulnerable" to terrorist threats, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said today. Key installations in the oil and natural gas sector, defence, communications and IT are also equally vulnerable, he said while inaugurating a three-day conference of state police chiefs here. "In view of the recent Indo-US agreement on civil nuclear energy cooperation, our atomic power plants have become highly vulnerable," Patil said. "Some Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist operatives are being trained specifically for sabotage of oil installations. There are plans to occupy some uninhabited islands and use them as bases for launching operations on the Indian coast." The country's critical infrastructure faced "serious" threats from terrorists, he added. Patil said there were reports to indicate that some multi-purpose projects in the country continued to be targets of terrorist groups. The country's coastal boundary was also under constant threat from terrorists, he said. -------- iran US could bomb Iran nuclear sites in 2007: analysts Wednesday November 22, 2006 Agence France-Presse http://sg.news.yahoo.com/061121/1/4502y.html President George W. Bush could choose military action over diplomacy and bomb Iran's nuclear facilities next year, political analysts in Washington agree. "I think he is going to do it," John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a military issues think tank, told AFP. "They are going to bomb WMD facilities next summer," he added, referring to nuclear facilities Iran says are for peaceful uses and Washington insists are really intended to make nuclear bombs, or weapons of mass destruction (WMD). "It would be a limited military action to destroy their WMD capabilities" added the analyst, believing a US military invasion of Iran is not on the table. US journalist Seymour Hersh also said at the weekend that White House hawks led by Vice President Dick Cheney were intent on attacking Iran with or without the approval of the US Congress, both houses of which switch from Republican to Democratic control in January after the November 7 legislative elections. The New Yorker weekly published an article by Hersh saying that one month before the elections, Cheney held a meeting on Iran in which he said the military option would never be discarded. The White House promptly issued a statement saying the article was "riddled with inaccuracies." Joseph Cirincione, Senior Vice President for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, a Democrat-friendly think tank, also believes the US government could decide to attack Iran. "It is not realistic but it does not mean we won't do it," he told AFP in an interview. "It is less likely after the elections but it is still very possible." "If you look at what the administration is doing, it seems that it is going to inevitably lead us to a military conflict," he said, adding that no alternative solution was being sought, including discussions with Iran on Iraq, which could lead to talks on Iran's nuclear program and role in the region. "Senior members of the (Bush) administration remain seized with the idea that the regime in Iran must be removed," Cirincione said. "The nuclear program is one reason, but their deeper agenda is this belief that American military power can be used to fundamentally transform the regimes in the Middle East," he added. With the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, hardliners in the government have lost one of their leading advocates, and his replacement, former former Central Intelligence Agency chief Robert Gates, has in the past favored direct talks with Iran, said the expert. "But they remain within the administration at the highest level, the office of the vice president, the national security council staff, perhaps the president himself," Cirincione added. He also accused neoconservative circles of promoting the military option against Tehran. In a Sunday op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, Joshua Muarvchik, resident scholar at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, called for getting tough with Iran. "We must bomb Iran," he said. "The path of diplomacy and sanctions has led nowhere ... Our options therefore are narrowed to two: we can prepare to live with a nuclear-armed Iran, or we can use force to prevent it." Israel has also been pushing Washington to get tough on Iran. Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh did not rule out preventive military action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, in a recent interview with the English-language Jerusalem Post. However, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems unperturbed. On Monday he said Israel was incapable of launching a military attack on Iran's nuclear sites and called Israeli threats "propaganda." -------- japan Hokuriku Elec to restart nuclear unit this week TOKYO, Nov 22, 2006 (Reuters) http://asia.news.yahoo.com/061122/3/2tbs8.html Hokuriku Electric Power Co. said on Wednesday it would restart the 540,000 kilowatt No.1 nuclear power generation unit at its Shiga plant after an unplanned shutdown due to technical problems. The unit in the northern Japan plant is expected to start generating electricity on Friday after being shut down for safety inspections since Nov. 7, a company spokesman said. -------- mideast Further evidence of enriched uranium in the air in lebanon following the recent conflict From: davey garland Date: Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:43 am See http://www.llrc.org for outline, full report and pictures. Part of the message of this report is that citizen groups can use simple, affordable and reliable techniques to monitor for the presence of hot radioactive particles in the environment. Green Audit recently reported the results of measurements carried out on samples from a bomb crater in Khiam Southern Lebanon. Measurements made by the Harwell laboratory in Oxford confirmed the existence of Enriched Uranium of activity 180Bq/kg and U238/U235 ratio of 108 in the sample. The discovery, which was reported in ‘The Independent’ of 28th October, has caused some concern. The United Nations Environment Programme UNEP responded that its analyses have failed to detect Uranium. The Israel Defence Force has denied using Depleted Uranium weapons. Further evidence of the widespread existence of enriched uranium in Lebanon is now reported in a new paper by Chris Busby and Dai Williams which has been accepted by the European Journal of Biology and Bioelectromagnetics and is available on the LLRC website http://www.llrc.org. Since the first analysis of the Khiam sample (which used Mass Spectrometry) was reported, Green Audit commissioned a second analysis using different techniques. Alpha spectrometry carried out at the School of Ocean Sciences University of Wales has confirmed the presence of Enriched Uranium but also shown the absence of significant amounts of plutonium. In addition, gamma spectroscopy has shown that there is no Caesium-137 or other gamma emitting isotopes that would be expected if the sample originated in spent nuclear fuel. There are significant and justified health concerns about exposure to the long lived and widely dispersed oxide particles formed when uranium weapons are used. In order to examine whether the Khiam bomb was a local contamination affair or whether there is more widespread distribution of uranium, Green Audit has commissioned an analysis for Uranium isotopes of a vehicle air filter taken by Dai Williams from an ambulance in the suburb of Haret Hreyk in South Beirut. The ambulance was hit on day 16 of the war but was active until then. The filter was examined using CR39 alpha tracking plastic and also sent to the Harwell laboratory for an analysis of uranium isotopes and also a routine 45 element analysis. The filter was dissolved in acid and examined using ICP Mass Spectrometry by the Harwell laboratory. Results confirmed the presence of enriched uranium. In three separate measurements the isotopic ratios U238/U235 found were 113, 123, 133 and total concentration in the filter element as supplied was 0.1mg/kg. The lower limit of detection of the Harwell measurement system was 0.0002mg/kg U238 and 0.0001mg/kg U235. This concentration is significant given that the dust in the filter would have had only two weeks to accumulate and add to earlier dust from a year’s usage in the engine. In addition, CR39 tracking techniques suggested the presence of at least two hot particles in the filter, the size and activity characteristics of which are consistent with Uranium. Although care should be taken in over-interpreting data based on only one filter, these results do suggest that there was widespread dispersion of enriched uranium over Southern Lebanon. We suggest that further vehicle filter measurements are made as a matter of urgency and that since there are political aspects, the issue is examined by or overseen by independent experts. We repeat here our earlier warning that the detection of weapons uranium in the environment is not straightforward and that conventional Geiger counters cannot be used. CR39 or sensitive beta scintillation counters followed by sampling and ICPMS is necessary before statements can be made about the presence or absence of uranium particles. ‘Further evidence of enriched uranium in guided weapons employed by the Israeli military in Lebanon in July 2006; Ambulance filter analysis’ Dai Williams and Chris Busby. European Journal of Biology and Bioelectromagnetics 2006 Vol 2 Issue 1. Published on the website www.llrc.org with permission of the Journal. Notes: The earlier Green Audit report on bomb crater samples is at http://www.llrc.org/du/subtopic/lebanrept.pdf Independent report at http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article1935945.ece ICP-MS is "Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy". European Journal of Biology and Bioelectromagnetics: see http://www.ebab.eu.com Critics of Green Audit and LLRC have referred to the Human Rights Council report "Commission of Inquiry on Lebanon" (http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/CoI-Lebanon.pdf), claiming that it indicates depleted Uranium was not used in Lebanon. The relevant paragraph appears to be: ii. Depleted uranium 257. The IDF has within its arsenal of weapons munitions that can be equipped with depleted uranium warheads. It is therefore possible that depleted uranium (DU) munitions were used by the IDF during the conflict. However, the preliminary findings of the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research, which carried out a detailed field survey of several bomb sites, concluded that there was no indication of depleted uranium having been used in the conflict, with the caveat that some additional field work was still necessary to draw a final conclusion. We note that we have already suggested enriched Uranium was deployed in order to disguise the depleted Uranium signature; that since no monitoring methods have been specified either by UNEP or OHCHR no-one can be confident that the forms of Uranium produced by Uranium bombs or armour piercing rounds would be detected; and that the findings are provisional. Low Level Radiation Campaign bramhall@llrc.org -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- new york Owner applies for renewal to license Indian Point The Associated Press November 22, 2006 http://www.topix.net/content/ap/0164953673342419382902465046990287031006 The company that owns and operates the Indian Point nuclear power plants announced Wednesday that it will ask for federal approval to operate the facility for 20 more years. Entergy Nuclear Northeast, which took over the facility five years ago, operates Indian Point Two and Three in Buchanan. Together they produce more than 2,000 megawatts of power, enough to meet 18 to 38 percent of the daily electricity needs of customers in the lower Hudson Valley and New York City. Entergy made the announcement during a discussion on the future of the Indian Point nuclear power plant attended by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Entergy President Mike Kansler, and the co-founder and former head of the environmental group, Greenpeace, Patrick Moore. Giuliani, whose consulting firm Giuliani Partners has worked with Entergy on security issues, characterized Indian Point as 'one of the safest plants.' The company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to improve security and safety features. 'When you look at the number of people injured harmed or effected by accidents occurring at power facilities, nuclear power turns out to be, if not the safest, just about the safest,' Giuliani said. But environmental groups and some residents who live near the plant have fought for years to get it closed because of safety concerns. Several municipalities have passed resolutions demanding that it be shut down. Complaints about the possibility of a catastrophic accident have intensified since the Sept. 11, 2002 terrorist attacks. Kansler said the company will undergo a 24-month review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as part of its re-licensing application. He said the process will amount to 'a rigorous top to bottom review of Indian Point based on an exhaustive examination of the facts.' Moore said nuclear energy was preferable to some other ways of creating electricity that generate more air pollution, like burning coal. Moore said that studies have shown no one has ever been injured or got cancer from the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, characterized as the worst nuclear accident in the country. Indian Point Two began operating in 1974 and produces 1,032 megawatts. Indian Point Three began in 1976 and produces 1,051 megawatts. On the Net: http://www.entergy-nuclear.com -------- MILITARY -------- landmines Israel admits breaching own rules on cluster munitions By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem 22/11/2006 UK Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/21/wisrael21.xml Israel admitted yesterday to using cluster bombs more widely during this summer's war with Hizbollah than was allowed by army rules. Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, head of the Israeli armed forces, said he was "disappointed but not surprised" to learn his instructions restricting use of cluster bombs had been ignored. Instead of only dropping cluster bombs from the air against particular targets, Israeli artillery used rockets to deliver so-called bomblets across much larger areas. Gen Halutz said there were enough grounds from a preliminary inquiry to convene an official investigation into whether court martial offences had been committed. While this was an apparent admission of error by the army, the Israeli government has not expressed regret for the use of cluster bombs, which turned large swathes of southern Lebanon into no-go areas. Israel continues to maintain its use of the bombs was in accordance with international guidelines. Some human rights groups have disagreed, accusing Israel of using cluster munitions in areas known to be heavily inhabited by civilians – a breach of the guidelines. According to a count by the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, as many as 1.2 million bomblets were dropped during the war and only 50 per cent detonated on impact. This left up to 600,000 still-live devices littering hillsides, villages, orchards and fields. So far at least 21 Lebanese civilians have been killed and more than a hundred injured by late detonating bomblets. Gen Halutz said he believed his orders restricting the use of cluster bombs were clear. "Were the orders explicit? I believe that they were." While Israel launched hundreds of rockets and munitions at Lebanon, Hizbollah was found to have fired a handful of Chinese-made rockets carrying bomblets. -------- POLITICS -------- propaganda wars Army Debuts New Slogan In Recruiting Commercials By Ann Scott Tyson Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, November 22, 2006; A19 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/21/AR2006112101295_pf.html The Army, facing another tough recruiting season, launched a $200 million-a-year advertising campaign this month and unveiled a new slogan: "Army Strong." The campaign's core message is that the Army builds not only physical but also mental and emotional strength in recruits, bonding them into a powerful, close-knit team. "There's strong, and then there's Army strong," a deep male voice intones as martial music rises from a brass band in the background. The television ads, launched nationwide for Veterans Day along with Internet placements and other outreach, omit all but the most fleeting images related to the all-volunteer Army's biggest endeavor ever: the war in Iraq. The main 30- and 60-second ads show soldiers jogging in formation, scaling a rope obstacle course and leaping out of a helicopter -- all take place in what appear to be familiar, grassy, domestic settings. The only brief glimpse of what could possibly be Iraq is of a group of soldiers hastily raising a tent -- although, unlike others in the ad, these soldiers wear no helmets or body armor. There are obvious reasons the Army might not want to underscore to potential recruits, and their parents, that signing up these days almost inevitably means deployment to combat zones in Afghanistan or Iraq, where the majority of the more than 2,850 killed and 21,000 wounded have been soldiers. The Army missed its fiscal 2005 recruiting target by more than 6,000 soldiers but rebounded last year with the aid of thousands of added recruiters, a doubling of the maximum enlistment bonus to $40,000 and some eased standards. The Army begins fiscal 2007 with another hefty target of 80,000 recruits and only about 15 percent already in the pipeline -- compared with a goal of 25 to 30 percent. Army officials acknowledge that parents and other influential adults are less likely to recommend military service today because of the ongoing conflicts, and surveys have shown that the wars have made some young people more wary of enlisting. To address these concerns, two of the ads feature the parents of soldiers -- a farming couple and a mechanic and his wife -- whose worries about Army service evolve into pride. "I was pretty nervous, apprehensive," says the father, wearing a 1st Infantry Division cap and standing beside a cornfield. "If your son or daughter wants to talk with you about joining the Army, listen. You made them strong, we'll make them Army strong," the announcer says in the English and Spanish ads launched on MTV, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and other stations. The television ads are coupled with Internet recruiting initiatives aimed at helping youths do their own research, including a presence on YouTube, Google, Yahoo and MySpace. Last Friday, the campaign expanded to offer potential recruits an "Ask a Soldier" discussion forum at GoArmy.com. New York advertising firm McCann Erickson designed the campaign after winning the two-year Army contract, which can be renewed for three additional years. The ads were tested on hundreds of soldiers, although studies show that it is difficult for the military to gain an accurate measure of the effectiveness of advertising, which is relatively expensive compared with other recruiting tools such as educational benefits and bonuses. Asked how they felt about the "Army Strong" pitch, soldiers at the Pentagon had mixed reactions. "I like it because it gives a better picture of what the Army is," said Lt. Col. Wayne Cherry, a liaison officer for the Army's chief of staff. " 'Army Strong' is like a football team, a baseball team." Sgt. 1st Class Mark Johnson was less enthusiastic. " 'Army Strong' is not telling me anything. It doesn't touch any emotional string," he said. "I don't think it will inspire people." While soldiers were still formulating opinions on the new slogan, several held strong views about past ditties such as the nebulous "Army of One," which survived only five years until being replaced by "Army Strong." "The 'Army of One' got lost in translation," quipped Col. David Reese, director for ministry initiatives of the Army's chief of chaplains. "I like 'Army Strong' because it symbolizes cohesiveness." By far the most popular recent slogan, according to soldiers interviewed, was "Be All You Can Be," which lasted 20 years until a recruiting downturn saw it changed in 2001. "To me, 'Army Strong' is kind of faddish. I've always liked 'Be All You Can Be' -- I missed that," said Lt. Col. Stephen Durham, a logistician. " 'Be All You Can Be' could have gone on forever. It's such an evergreen thing," another Army official said wistfully. ---- Hollywood Environmentalist Targets Middle America November 22, 2006 — By Mary Milliken, Reuters http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11707 LOS ANGELES — Hollywood environmentalist Laurie David's fight to convince America of the dangers of global warming begins in her own bathrooms. David, producer of Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth," is taking her crusade to Middle America and Washington next year, setting her sights on convincing President Bush and average U.S. citizens to make changes to safeguard the planet. But first she had to deal with her preteen daughter, who stole toilet paper from friends, and comedian husband Larry David, a creator of "Seinfeld" and HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," who rebelled when she switched to toilet tissue made from recycled consumer waste. "I had a contest to see who in my family would complain first ... it was the husband, who complained bitterly," David said in an interview with Reuters last week. David, 48, has overcome bigger obstacles, like convincing a reluctant Hollywood that there was wide interest, and money to be made, in "An Inconvenient Truth," a film about former vice president Gore's slide show on global warming. The unlikely box-office hit was the third-largest grossing documentary of all time and is on the short list for an Academy Award nomination. The DVD version goes on sale this week. While admitting to being nervous about Oscar season, David is moving on to her next headline event to "kick up the dirt" in mid-America and the nation's capital with one of the biggest names in music. "Sheryl Crow and I are going to go out on her biodiesel tour bus, starting in Texas, and invite friends to join us on various stops," said David, speaking in the garden outside her Los Angeles-area home office overlooking the Pacific Ocean. "We really want to go to places where people are not talking about these issues as much as they should be." During 10 days in April, the two women will drive to Washington, D.C., for Earth Day, where she hopes some of her 525,000 virtual marchers -- people who have signed on to her Web site -- will join them in person. "There is a window closing here," said David, citing experts like NASA climatologist James Hansen who say the world has 10 years to take action against global warming or face widespread climate disaster. "If they say nine years or 10 years, I am thinking maybe it is five years because scientists are the most cautious people on the planet," David said. GORE IN 2008? Despite having spent most of her adult life around comedians as a talent manager and comedy producer, David can be awfully serious, especially when talking about the lack of leadership in Washington. "The rest of the world is so much more engaged on this issue than the United States," she said. "We're the biggest cause of global warming pollution now and we are doing the least about it and that is not acceptable." But she sees hope after the Democrats won control of Congress in the midterm elections and vowed to make the environment a priority. "Action on global warming has to happen while the Bush administration is still in office," David said. "I am not waiting for 2008." But looking toward the next elections, she said she would do anything to get Gore to make another run at the presidency after he was edged out by Bush in 2000. "He's not planning on it for the moment but it would be one of my dreams to see him run for president again," David said. Even with the shift in political power, David said her goal is unchanged: "To permeate popular culture in every way I can to get people to wake up to what is going on." She believes Hollywood is doing an admirable job on fighting global warming, from studios like Warner Bros going green to celebrities like Leonardo di Caprio embracing the hybrid cars her family has been driving for years. And what is Larry David's role in his wife's crusade? Well, he drives a hybrid on his HBO show, funds some of her activities and, perhaps most importantly, keeps her laughing. "It is a bit of burden to feel like we have this giant problem and I personally feel like I have to do something about it," she said. "If you can be married to a comedian, that's a good start." -------- ENERGY -------- alternative energy Iowa to Host Cellulosic Ethanol Production by 2009 DES MOINES, Iowa, November 22, 2006 (ENS) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2006/2006-11-22-09.asp#anchor1 Broin Companies plans to invest $200 million in a cellulose-to-ethanol facility that will be built in Emmetsburg, Iowa, by 2009. Broin is the largest dry mill ethanol producer in the United States. The company announced on Monday that it will begin construction in February on a project to convert its Emmetsburg ethanol plant, which currently produces 50 million gallons per year (mgpy) of corn ethanol, into a biorefinery that will produce 125 mgpy of ethanol from corn fiber and stover. The manufacture of ethanol from non-food agricultural waste allows the edible part of the corn plants to be used for food, while making automotive fuel from the remains. Broin expects to use new technology that will be able to produce 27 percent more ethanol from an acre of corn while consuming only 17 percent of the energy used in corn-to-ethanol facilities. The technology was developed under a five year research initiative that was jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DOE. Broin worked with DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and South Dakota State University to develop a process that separates cellulosic biomass, such as corn fiber, into its constituent parts. The announcement came during a joint press conference at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines with Jeff Broin, CEO of Broin Companies, Iowa Governor Thomas Vilsack, and Iowa Governor-Elect Chet Culver. “I want to congratulate the Broin Companies and the people of Emmetsburg for this exciting investment in Iowa’s renewable energy future,” said Culver. “This plant represents exactly the kind of advancement in the alternative fuels industry that I will make the focus of our economic development efforts." Broin is a leading ethanol producer, managing 18 corn ethanol plants in the United States while marketing one billion gallons of ethanol per year.