[see yesterday's items]

Today's source articles

* [NRC oversight of n-plant security] Report prompts criticism of NRC
Roger Witherspoon, NY Journal News -- this is a pretty fair, albeit alarmist, representation of the recent GAO report on NRC's oversight of security at power reactors, which is available here on nuclear.com as GAO-03-752.pdf. The article concludes with a quote that wins nuclear.com's 'rant of the day' distinction: It's from Marilyn Elie, co-founder of the Westchester Citizens Awareness Network: NRC, she said, seeks to "delay, hide information and deny public access because what they do is so blatantly pro-industry that it cannot stand the light of day."

* Transcript: Putin Interview
Washington Post -- Amongst the subjects Putin discusses is Iran's nuclear program. Russia, he says, does not want Iran to obtain nuclear weapons capability, and the vague charges floating around to the contrary are a stupid politicization of the matter. The USA appears to be the source of most of these charges, although none have been directly communicated to him. He noted that many western European and American companies cooperate with Iran -- either directly or through intermediary organizations -- in the nuclear sphere. The most interesting insights from this interview were non-nuclear. His view of elections as requiring leader's time and effort which could be better spent on leading was expressed more bluntly than we're accustomed to hear from even the most entrenched or embattled incumbants here. His dismissal of an assistant secretary of state's critical comments about Russia's handling of Chechnya included a combination of folksiness and steeliness: "... we have a proverb in Russia -- in every family there will be somebody who is ugly or retarded." His observation that "You know, corruption is not a Russian invention" was one of the best one-liners nuclear.com has ever heard from a politician. When Mr. Putin was first elected, nuclear.com had no idea that he would be so, uh, likeable in many ways. Your humble editor is happy to disagree with one point he expressed, however. That was when he said "Only an idiot may be happy."

* [Seabrook] Critic: Plant's tube crack is hazardous
Susan Morse, Portsmouth Herald -- Dr. Joe Hopenfeld is a bona fide steam generator expert. The conclusions that he shared at the recent C-10 meeting in Newburyport Mass, described in this article, have also been shared with many groups and panels at NRC over the years. But make no mistake about it, Dr. Hopenfeld long ago crossed over from being an expert to being an advocate. This article quotes him as telling the audience "IÕm not trying to scare anybody but ..." This is not the first time he's used that language, nor does it get any more persuasive with repetition. An afternoon perusing the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards meeting transcripts for October 11, 12 and 13, 2000 will show some of the public scrutiny on a wide range of matters related to Dr. Hopenfeld's concerns.

* Gizmo story is a Web hit
Alan Edwards, Deseret News -- the story about the Utah teen who built a fusion reactor from scrounged parts is the most-read story ever on Deseret News' website -- over 237,000 hits since the story ran September 16.

* Fernald projects shut down -- Management cites safety
Dan Klepal, Cincinnati Enquirer -- this is a tale worth reading. It's not clear whether Fernald workers and nearby public can expect anything but bad news, health and safety-wise. Although this article doesn't mention it, the partial stand-down referenced in the title was voluntary act by Fluor Fernald.

* Davis-Besse: ÔEthical violationÕ mars suit, utility says
Tom Henry, Toledo Blade -- The Davis-Besse story has all the ingredients for a hit movie. The subplot reported in this article would be too implausible for a fictional tale, but is a humdinger as true story. A fired contractor is suing the utility, claiming that he was a whistleblower. His current attorney used to be an employee of the utility. In fact, he was the manager responsible for overseeing the work that the fired contractor was performing. The utility has filed a motion to have him removed as plaintiff's counsel, since they plan to call him to the witness stand in conjunction with a memo he wrote at the time, critical of the contractor. The attorney, by the way, has also worked as an inspector for the NRC. And, oh, he sees no ethical problem in representing his client and intends to fight the utility's motion. The work in question was the rebuilding of the reactor coolant pumps in late 1980s. Another whistleblower lawsuit has been filed by an engineer who says he was fired last year for insisting the pumps needed to be rebuilt again.

* Davis-Besse test due to end Monday night
Toledo Blade article describes plant's efforts to obtain the seven days' worth of test data NRC wants to evaluate before making a decision on restart. During normal operations, the plant's primary system operates in excess of 600 degrees and at 2,200 psi. During the test, the plant has been in a nonnuclear mode, at 523 degrees and 2,155 pounds per square inch of pressure. Delay and interruption described, too.

* Court downs man's radioactive lawsuit
Mansfield News Journal reports on District Court decision that an Ohio scrapyard owner is due no compensation from the government which sold him radioctively contaminated scrap metal without disclosing that it was contaminated.

* State says UF dump leaches pollution
David Damron, Orlando Sentinel -- If you want to read a really depressing tale, this story's for you. It's about a 1960s-vintage unlined dump in Gainesville Florida that may have contaminated some local residents' water supply. The University of Florida, which created the dump, does not appear to be a very good neighbor in all this. And the state health department doesn't sound so hot either. The article reports that the contaminants appear to include benzene, radionuclides, and other stuff.

* Illinois Power for sale
Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette -- Exelon has already purchased the nuclear plant built by Illinois Power. Now it's negotiating with Dynergy to purchase the rest of the company. A number of newspapers reported last month that Dynergy was looking for a buyer for Illinois Power because it believed the company offered little opportunity for significant revenue growth.

* Commission to hold special meeting Tuesday
Pahrump Valley Times reports that Nye County Nevada will discuss a transportation agreement with DOE, and the formation of a Regional Transportation Authority, comprised of counties affected by transportation of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, in a teleconference Tuesday night at 8:30. The public's invited to listen in at the old courthouse in Pahrump.

* UNLV-Federal Funds
Associated Press reports that UNLV is #16 on the list of 771 schools receiving federal grant money in FY2003. The $19.7-million includes an unspecified amount related to Yucca Mountain studies.

* Nuke stockpiling far from reassuring
Robert Koehler, Tribune Media Servives -- Mr. Koehler thinks the phrase "tactical nuclear weapon" is an oxymoron. The only point he makes that nuclear.com agrees with is that the Democratic vote count in the Senate these days is notable for the absence of the several campaigning presidential candidates. Hey Mr. Koehler! How about "thoughtful Democrat" as an oxymoron?

* Legislators pressed to pass plebiscite law

Chiu Yu-Tzu, Taipei Times -- It's hard to keep track of who favors a "referendum law" in Taiwan. For now, the anti-nuclear folks are strong supporters, as they see a referendum as the only way to halt construction of the nation's fourth nuclear plant. One anti-nuclear legislator is quoted as emphasizing what a target nuclear plants make for missiles from the mainland. The article doesn't mention that the same mainland bullies he's worried about on this issue are very much opposed to allowing Taiwan citizens to vote in referendums.

* US said to be working on detailed N Korea plan
Reuters/ABC-Australia -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-Kwan thinks the USA will bring more detailed plans, addressing the full range of issues, to the next round of talks. That's a basis for optimism about progress, he says. nuclear.com's heart goes out to the people of South Korea. Living so close to that well-armed sociopath must really be nerve-wracking. Heck, if nuclear.com hadn't been pretty sure that the US military would not allow our own head case of a leader, Bill Clinton, to do anything way out of bounds, it would have been more nervous around here, too.

* Too early to set date for talks on Pyongyang nukes, says China
Associated Press/Taiwan News -- Fu Ying is director-general for Asian affairs in New China's Foreign Ministry. He told reporters yesterday that, before a date can be set for next round of talks, the participants will have to agree on the subjects to be discussed. No easy task, that.

* Largest atom crusher to have 'Made in India' tag
Vithal C Nadkarni, India Economic Times -- The European Organisation for Nuclear Research's (Cern) large hadron collider (LHC) project is "scientifically and engineering-wise the most challenging project ever undertaken by mankind", says the chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission. The LHC's detectors will "handle as much information as the entire European telecommunications network", CERN's project director is cited as saying. The article describes the intense pressure that the atom smasher will create, allowing study of behavior of atoms in conditions theorized to have been extant shortly after big bang.

* Public has its say over radioactive waste plan
Edinburgh Evening News -- Five proposals are expected by the government from companies which want to help UK dismantle eleven nuclear submarines now and likely more in the future. Local public opinion about hosting the decommissioning and storing some of the radwaste is high on the defense ministry's evaluation criteria. This article includes details about prospects for bid from the Fife dockyard in Rosyth.

* Safety First at Nuclear Plant

Power House reports that Hargreaves of Lancashire has built, tested and installed a BNFL-designed negative pressure system that captures 100% of particles down to 0.12 micron in size. The system will be used to control contamination during oxy-propane cutting of reactor shell at Windscale Advanced Gas Reactor decommissioning.

* Saddam and the Tooth Fairy
James Gordon Prather, WorldNetDaily -- nuclear.com often disagrees with Dr. Prather, and this piece is no exception. He is an excellent wordsmith, however, and he's worth reading if just to be better prepared for the vehement inanities of those who share his opinion.

* 10 ways to sex up a dossier
Ewen Macaskill and Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian -- After all the hubub, the vacuous nature of the "sexing up" charges is starkly displayed in this point-by-point analysis. How the Guardian manages to draw the ridiculous conclusions it does seems a much more pernicious matter than any or all of the ten points described.

* UK Minister Slams 'Axis Of Evil' Fantasy
Reuters/Xtra MSN -- House of Commons leader Peter Hain is engaging in that leftist pastime known as Bush-bashing. The courage that Tony Blair has shown in bucking these bozos is inspiring.

* Thousands gather for Iraq demo

BBC News reports on several anti-occupation rallies held yesterday on several continents. The largest was apparently in London.

* Bush Seeks Putin's Support on Iraq, Iran

Caren Bohan, Reuters -- the imagery of President Putin being driven away by GW Bush in a golf cart after helicopter landed at Camp David is really neat. I recall the Gorons making a big deal late in the campaign about a DUI arrest a long time ago. But can you imagine any life-loving foreign leader voluntarily letting, say, Ted Kennedy drive them anywhere?

* With Issues to Resolve, Bush Welcomes Putin to Camp David
David E. Sanger, New York Times -- Never say the Gray Lady can't change with the times. When President Reagan minced no words and brooked no guff from the Soviet Union in its international aggressions, the Times was aghast at the risk of such confrontational strategy. Now, the Times tsk-tskingly says Mr. Bush's criticisms of Mr. Putin handling of his nation's internal affairs have been largely tepid.

* US-Russia summit tackles Iran
BBC News povides much interesting background info, including that "President Putin told US business executives in New York on Friday that Russia wanted to be supplying America with 10% of its oil exports within seven years".

* US anger at Putin over Iran
Gary Younge, The Guardian -- this mostly rabble-rousing piece demonstrates that there's not much difference between news pages and editorial pages in the Guardian. It did include one newsworthy tidbit as the last line of the story, however: "A visit by IAEA officials was postponed yesterday after the Iranians asked for a week's delay to prepare for the inspection."

* CIA seeks probe of White House
MSNBC reports on the question of "Who blew Valerie Plame's cover?" Her husband suspects the White House, but only anonymous sources have been cited so far.

* Europe's lunar adventure begins

BBC News reports that the first solo European mission to the Moon is well on its way. The "ion drive" propulsion description in this article is interesting, as are the mentions of some of the data to be collected.

* First move made for new Clinton nuke plant
Associated Press/Lincoln Courier -- This is story about the first ESP application filed. "The Clinton property makes sense because the area has an experienced work force and it is strategically located for electricity generation and distribution," said Exelon Nuclear President and Chief Nuclear Officer Jack Skolds.

* Nuclear Regulatory Agency Lax on Reactor Security, Congressional Audit Finds
Matthew L. Wald, New York Times

* U.S. nuclear subs leave, enter Okinawa port
Japan Today

* Mangla, ChasNuPP okayed
Pakistan Daily Times

* The Wilson War Continues
Timothy J. Burger, TIME

* A Vengeful White House?
CBS News

* No Peace, Now No Peacekeepers
Patrick E. Tyler, New York Times

* Isolated Bush takes UN helm
Ian Mather, Scotland on Sunday

* Don't look back
The Observer

* Russia Won't End Accord With Iran to Build Reactor
David E. Sanger, New York Times

* Bush and Putin warn Iranians
Jennifer Loven, Independent

* US and Russia warn Iran
BBC News

* Britain's Blair to Fight on Despite Grim Polls
Paul Majendie, Reuters

* Iran under renewed pressure from UN nuclear watchdog
Pakistan Daily Times

* Hard-liners defy UN nuclear deadline
Globe and Mail

* IAEA Appeal to Iran
Riyadh Daily

* Bush, Putin Warn Iran, N. Korea over Nukes
Riyadh Daily

* West Must Deal with Israeli Nuclear Program: German Journalist
Palestine Chronicle