nuclear.com info nuggets - September 28, 2003

info nuggets - Sept 28, 2003

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Today's info nuggets

Today's source articles

* What Should We Call ItÉ.Slow Death By Coverup?
Thomas D. Segel, Men's News Daily -- This a tragic story. The author seems a bit less than diligent with some easy-to-check statements, like the name and date of the blast he describes as the likely cause of Corporal Bennett's health problems. But there's no doubt that the hundreds of thousands of servicemen who took part in the a-bomb tests deserve better than we've provided.

* DOE program faces delays, cost overruns
Jim McBride, Amarillo Globe News -- This article describes recent GAO audit of the National Nuclear Security Administration's cost controls and planning for the Stockpile Life Extension Program. The audit found, as have previous internal reviews by NNSA, that better planning is required to ensure that nuclear weapon refurbishment can maintain reliable stockpiles. Better planning is also seen as necessary to keep the projects from escalating in cost.

* Audit: cost overruns, delays threaten upgrade of nuclear arsenal
Associated Press/News 24 Houston

* Step up the pace to meet nuke claims
Chillicothe Gazette (Ohio) -- This editorial decries the fact that, two years after radiation compensation law was passed, only 45 of 18,823 claims from workers at the Piketon Ohio plant have been approved. No one doubts the complications involved in using 50-year-old records, nor the difficulty of doctors in assigning cause to various ailments. But it's sure not doing right by these workers to proceed at the snail's pace exhibited so far. Something needs to be done to help folks while they're still alive, and it shouldn't require Congressional oversight hearings to get things moving.

* Safety violations shut down Cincinnati nuclear-site cleanups
Associated Press/Cleveland Plain Dealer

* 7.4% TVA hike starts this week
John Peck, Huntsville Times -- TVA's first rate hike since 1997 is generating complaints. Actually, largest users will see a slight decrease in price, while the typical residential bill will rise by about $5.00/month. That's still pretty good compared to the cost of electricty elsewhere. After the price rise, for example, the average Huntsville Utilities customer will pay 6.2 cents per kilowatt hour. The Southeast average is 6.8 cents and the national average is 9 cents. The new rates are projected to bring in an extra $365 million a year. The extra cash will be used to pay for polllution control equipment installed over the next ten years -- $3.6-billion worth.

* Phosphate woes heating up legislation
Greg Martin, Charlotte Sun-Herald -- When Mulberry mining company executives declared bankruptcy and walked away, they left the state of Florida liable for 1.2 billion gallons of radioactive acid water perched in ponds on top of a crumbling mountain of phosphogypsum waste. The cleanup will cost $160 million. This article describes state legislators' efforts to draft legislation to prevent other companies from leaving such a rotten burden on the public.

* Nuclear power watchdogs get no bones from NH
Susan Morse, Hampton Union

* Vt. Yankee is shut down after steam leak
Stephen Mills, Rutland Herald

* Debate over wind turbines heats up
Meredith Goad, Portland Press Herald

* Trash provides 'horn o' plenty' for towns
Rick Hampson, USA Today

* Emerging energy blueprint reflects industry
Houston Chronicle

* Energy Bill Add-Ons Make It Hard to Say No
Dan Morgan and Peter Behr, Washington Post

* Superbomb ignites science dispute
Keay Davidson, San Francisco Chronicle

* President proposes arms policing
Ian Hoffman, Tri-Valley Herald

* U.N. revival
Stephen Schlesinger, Alameda Times-Star

* Nuclear waste by road 'safest'
Dubbo Daily Liberal

* Opposition dismiss referendum as ruse
Taiwan News

* Foreign Minister Says US Preparing New Plan on NK Nuclear Issue
Kim Ki-tae, Korea Times