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Decision an Apparent Bow to Burgeoning Nuclear Fuel Enrichment Industry The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted today to declare that depleted uranium (DU) from enrichment plants is a Class A low-level radioactive waste - the least dangerous kind that supposedly consists mainly of short-lived radionuclides. In 2005, the NRC had concluded that large amounts of DU were not covered by its existing low-level waste rule and directed its staff to develop recommendations regarding DU classification. The Commission's action also opens the door to classification of other dangerous radioactive wastes in the least hazardous category - Class A. Commissioner Jaczko dissented and voted in favor of a rulemaking process to determine the classification of DU within the existing low-level waste framework.

Votes to Ignore Sound Science, Its Own Prior Analysis, and Radiological Safety Decision an Apparent Bow to Burgeoning Nuclear Fuel Enrichment Industry TAKOMA PARK, Md. - March 18 - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted today to declare that depleted uranium (DU) from enrichment plants is a Class A low-level radioactive waste -- the least dangerous kind that supposedly consists mainly of short-lived radionuclides. In 2005, the NRC had concluded that large amounts of DU were not covered by its existing low-level waste rule and directed its staff to develop recommendations regarding DU classification. The Commission's action also opens the door to classification of other dangerous radioactive wastes in the least hazardous category -- Class A. Commissioner Jaczko dissented and voted in favor of a rulemaking process to determine the classification of DU within the existing low-level waste framework.

During the public subcommittee meetings of the Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board at the Endeavor Center concerning cleanup and possible future uses for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site, a definition clarification led to a volatile exchange between an EPA worker and the survivor of a plant worker. Joni Fearing, whose parents died from plant related contamination, objected to the Portsmouth/Piketon site not technically qualifying as a "superfund" cleanup site, which in the determination of certain attorneys triggers certain benefits to survivors. After challenging criteria for "superfund" classification, Brian Blair, Ohio EPA Division of Emergency and Remedial Response, attempted to explain the process. Sites designated under superfund qualify for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) environmental law. The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is on the list in Kentucky.

During the public subcommittee meetings of the Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board at the Endeavor Center concerning cleanup and possible future uses for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site, a definition clarification led to a volatile exchange between an EPA worker and the survivor of a plant worker. Joni Fearing, whose parents died from plant related contamination, objected to the Portsmouth/Piketon site not technically qualifying as a "superfund" cleanup site, which in the determination of certain attorneys triggers certain benefits to survivors. After challenging criteria for "superfund" classification, Brian Blair, Ohio EPA Division of Emergency and Remedial Response, attempted to explain the process. Sites designated under superfund qualify for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) environmental law. The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is on the list in Kentucky.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on issues associated with blending of low-level radioactive waste and is planning public meetings to discuss blending in Rockville, Md. The issue of blending low-level radioactive waste has received increased attention from the nuclear industry since the 2008 closing of the Barnwell, S.C., low-level waste disposal site. This action left waste generators in 36 states with no disposal options for Class B and Class C wastes, the two classes of low-level waste with higher radioactivity. Blending in some cases can lower the classification of the wastes to the lower-radioactivity Class A, which has available disposal capacity, by reducing the concentration of radionuclides. Blending refers to mixing low-level wastes of different concentrations, primarily Class B or C with Class A. It does not involve mixing radioactive waste with non-radioactive waste, a practice known as "dilution." And it does not imply release of radioactive material to the general environment, either to municipal non-radioactive waste disposal sites or to consumer products. Blended wastes remain low-level waste and must be disposed in a licensed low-level waste disposal facility.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on issues associated with blending of low-level radioactive waste and is planning public meetings to discuss blending in Rockville, Md. The issue of blending low-level radioactive waste has received increased attention from the nuclear industry since the 2008 closing of the Barnwell, S.C., low-level waste disposal site. This action left waste generators in 36 states with no disposal options for Class B and Class C wastes, the two classes of low-level waste with higher radioactivity. Blending in some cases can lower the classification of the wastes to the lower-radioactivity Class A, which has available disposal capacity, by reducing the concentration of radionuclides. Blending refers to mixing low-level wastes of different concentrations, primarily Class B or C with Class A. It does not involve mixing radioactive waste with non-radioactive waste, a practice known as "dilution." And it does not imply release of radioactive material to the general environment, either to municipal non-radioactive waste disposal sites or to consumer products. Blended wastes remain low-level waste and must be disposed in a licensed low-level waste disposal facility.

HE U. S. NUCLEAR REGUALTORY COMMISSION (NRC) is issuing this Sources Sought as a means to determine the availability and potential technical capability of the commercial sector (including universities) in performing an epidemiologic study to complement and provide up-to-date information to the 1990 U.S. National Cancer Institute study, "Cancer in Populations Living Near Nuclear Facilities." The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 541990 - "All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services".

HE U. S. NUCLEAR REGUALTORY COMMISSION (NRC) is issuing this Sources Sought as a means to determine the availability and potential technical capability of the commercial sector (including universities) in performing an epidemiologic study to complement and provide up-to-date information to the 1990 U.S. National Cancer Institute study, "Cancer in Populations Living Near Nuclear Facilities." The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 541990 - "All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services".

Southern California Edison declared an unusual event at the 1,080-megawatt Unit 3 at San Onofre nuclear power station in California due to both emergency diesel generators being inoperable, the company told the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a report. Operators started to shut the unit but returned it to nearly full power after fixing the problem. The unit started at full power on Dec. 12 and was cut to at least 90 percent. It was back to 99 percent power early Monday. An unusual event is the lowest of the NRC's four emergency classifications. San Onofre is located in San Clemente in San Diego County about 60 miles (96 km) north of San Diego.

Southern California Edison declared an unusual event at the 1,080-megawatt Unit 3 at San Onofre nuclear power station in California due to both emergency diesel generators being inoperable, the company told the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a report. Operators started to shut the unit but returned it to nearly full power after fixing the problem. The unit started at full power on Dec. 12 and was cut to at least 90 percent. It was back to 99 percent power early Monday. An unusual event is the lowest of the NRC's four emergency classifications. San Onofre is located in San Clemente in San Diego County about 60 miles (96 km) north of San Diego.

Valve Leak Stopped, No Radioactive Release Reported At Beaver Valley SHIPPINGPORT, Pa. -- A leak in a valve at a nuclear reactor in Shippingport, Beaver County, has been resolved and no radioactive release was reported. The leak in the Beaver Valley Power Station's No. 2 nuclear reactor was discovered at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. It was resolved within an hour. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared the incident an "unusual event," the least of four emergency classifications. A spokesman for the NRC told Channel 4 Action News that the plant has been shut down for maintenance since October, and a valve was accidentally left open while the cooling system was being taken out of service, which caused water to flow into the pressurized relief tank.

Valve Leak Stopped, No Radioactive Release Reported At Beaver Valley SHIPPINGPORT, Pa. -- A leak in a valve at a nuclear reactor in Shippingport, Beaver County, has been resolved and no radioactive release was reported. The leak in the Beaver Valley Power Station's No. 2 nuclear reactor was discovered at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. It was resolved within an hour. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared the incident an "unusual event," the least of four emergency classifications. A spokesman for the NRC told Channel 4 Action News that the plant has been shut down for maintenance since October, and a valve was accidentally left open while the cooling system was being taken out of service, which caused water to flow into the pressurized relief tank.

"Mike Carlson was at his desk when he noticed his chair starting to move. The computer monitor on his desk at Central Vermont Public Service Corp. in Rutland shuddered, too, Wednesday afternoon moving from side to side, thanks to a magnitude-5.0 earthquake in Canada at abount 2:30 p.m. that shook a region stretching as far west as Michigan and into New England. Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon reported an "unusual event," the lowest of four levels of emergency classification. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan says the earthquake wasn't felt in the control room but was in other parts of the site. Yankee officials say there's no evidence of damage to the plant. Vermont Emergency Management spokesman Mark Bosma said no reports of damage have been reported. Advertisement "

"Utah, say federal regulators, can help solve a big problem for the nuclear industry: the pileup of low-level radioactive waste at many of the nation's reactors. Much of the hottest low-level waste -- though far less radioactive than used fuel rods -- is stored at 90 power plants because nuclear companies have nowhere to dispose of it. So, staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed changing federal rules to make that waste permissible at the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Utah through "blending." By allowing more hazardous "Class B and C waste" to be mixed with lower-hazard "Class A" waste, regulators would make the blend legal for disposal at EnergySolutions, the only commercial site open to low-level radioactive waste from 36 states. The blending proposal reflects a big shift in NRC policy, and it directly contradicts the public positions of Gov. Gary Herbert, the Utah Division of Radiation Control and the state's Radiation Control Board. The Utahns object to blending "when the intent is to alter the waste classification for the purposes of disposal site access." Five years ago, Utah banned "Class B and Class C" low-level radioactive waste. "

"If you start out with one teapot and a bag of Earl Grey blend, no matter how long you let the bag steep, you still end up with tea. That analogy, offered by the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was touched on with reporters Monday while Gregory Jaczko was in Salt Lake City for a meeting of the Health Physics Society. Processed low-level radioactive waste or so-called "blended waste" - if it remains Class A material - "it is Class A material," Jaczko said. EnergySolutions' efforts to store the processed waste at its Clive facility have been met with criticism from some environmental advocacy groups and elicited a public policy statement of opposition to the practice by state regulators and Gov. Gary Herbert. The board, however, was careful to note that it recognized down-blended waste does not pose any unique health and safety issues, but emphasized it was opposed if the intent of blending is to alter the waste's classification."

"Sweet-shop metaphors were being tossed around like ammunition in a food fight Tuesday at a meeting of the state Radiation Control Board. Some likened the blending of low-level radioactive waste to concocting a sugar cookie, others to baking a layer cake. But board members preferred less-creative analogies when considering the serious issue of various types of nuclear- reactor rubbish that EnergySolutions and others want to stir together to be buried forever at the company's disposal site in Utah. The Radiation Control Board a few months ago approved a position paper that said even though blended waste is not significantly more hazardous than the Class A waste allowed in Utah, the state doesn't want any radioactive waste that is blended just to change its classification so that it can be legally buried at the EnergySolutions site."

Exelon Corp's (EXC.N) 619-megawatt Oyster Creek nuclear power station in New Jersey shut from full power on Feb. 1 due to a main transformer fire, the company said in a release. The company declared an unusual event because the fire lasted longer than 15 minutes. The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes with help from the offsite fire department. An unusual event is the lowest of the NRC's emergency classifications. The company said the fire did not damage anything but the transformer

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans a public meeting on Jan. 21 to review backup power problems at the Salem 1 nuclear plant in New Jersey along the Delaware River in 2005 and 2007. Under NRC rules, the agency briefly gave plant owner PSEG Nuclear it's second-worst "yellow" performance rating for reliability and availability of emergency power, a classification that was returned to normal status during the first quarter of 2008. Inspectors designated a portion of Salem's multi-part rating as "degraded" after diesel generators failed to start during three times during testing over 12 consecutive quarters.

Both units at PPL's 2,360-MW Susquehanna nuclear plant in northeastern Pennsylvania were continuing to run at full power Monday afternoon after the operators reported an unusual event at Unit 2's pump room. The company declared an alert, the second-lowest of four emergency classifications established by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at the DC Cook Nuclear Power Station to review circumstances around a turbine generator fire and degradation of the fire suppression system. The two-unit plant is operated by American Electric Power and is located in Stevensville, Mich. On Sept. 20, 2008, a malfunction in the Unit 1 turbine generator resulted in a fire and caused the operators to manually shut down the reactor. The turbine generator transforms steam into electricity. All nuclear safety systems functioned as expected and were not affected by the fire which occurred in a building separate from the nuclear reactor. The utility declared an unusual event, the lowest of NRC's four emergency classifications, when the fire could not be extinguished within 15 minutes. The fire was extinguished 25 minutes after it started. There were no injuries and no hazard to the public.

* Nuclear watchdog group says India may be releasing sensitive know-how to firms WASHINGTON: India's claim that it has a spotless record when it comes to nuclear proliferation has been questioned by a leading nuclear watchdog group. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) believes that important questions remain about the adequacy and implementation of India's export control and nuclear classification procedures.

A change in classification means depleted uranium could be coming to Utah's west desert in bulk. On Wednesday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted to regulate depleted uranium as Class A low-level waste. Depleted uranium is the by-product, or tails, of the uranium enrichment process, a key point in the production of fuel for nuclear power reactors. It is stable in the short-term. It's used as part of dental porcelain and to make armor-piercing bullets like those used in the Gulf wars. But Vanessa Pierce, executive director of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah says depleted uranium is much more toxic thousands of years down the road.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission manned Incident Response Centers in Atlanta and Rockville, Md., Wednesday night, dispatched its resident inspector and called in criticality safety experts to monitor an alert declared at B&W Nuclear Operations Group in Lynchburg, Va. An alert is the lowest level of NRC emergency classifications for fuel facilities such as B&W. The NRC staff continued to monitor the incident, which began at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday until its successful resolution at 12:35 a.m. Thursday. B&W staff activated the facility's Emergency Operations Center after identifying a potential criticality issue in the Uranium Recovery area. A criticality can occur when highly enriched uranium comes together in sufficient quantity or in a container of correct shape to initiate a chain reaction resulting in either a "burst" or a sustained release of radiation.

Most DU weapons manufactured in the United States show a distinct difference between conventional weapons and those that contain DU and other toxic elements such as Tungsten etc. The warhead clearly shows the Rod with a Sabot sitting just below the point. It must be clearly understood that despite any re classification that may have taken place by the US Government these truly are nuclear related weapons. You can clearly see that the Israel's IMI is manufacturing weapons that are almost identical to the US weapons that are displayed in the left hand picture above.

Recent Actions by Declassification Panel Show Pattern of CIA Overclassification and Tight Grip on Early Cold War History New Declassification Releases by the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) During the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq War, the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research was one of the few U.S. intelligence organizations to dissent from the Bush administration's allegations of a revved-up Iraqi nuclear program. Secretary of State Colin Powell ignored his own experts, but INR's prescience raised its prestige. INR also got it right in its forecast of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, according to a recently declassified post-mortem on the U.S. intelligence failure during the October War, published today by the National Security Archive. In the spring of 1973, INR analysts wrote that, absent diplomatic progress in the Middle East, "the resumption of hostilities will become a better than even bet."