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The leakage of radiation at a factory that sterilizes various foods has not polluted the environment in Kaifeng, Henan province, nor does it threaten public health, according to local environmental protection authorities. Officials are responding to widespread panic in the online community, who question the circumstances surrounding last month's leak of radioactive isotope cobalt-60 at the Limin Radiation Factory in Qi county of Kaifeng. The radioactive leak, which occurred on June 7, caused a fire at the factory a week later because workers were unable to control the radiation source. "The news of the harmful radiation leak, which caused panic among some residents, is a rumor and untrue," said an official of the Kaifeng Environmental Protection Bureau, who refused to be named. "Even furniture gives out some level of radiation," he added. The factory uses cobalt60 for the sterilization of pepper and the containers for the spice.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking re-election in a federal vote on Sunday and polls give her conservatives a solid lead over their coalition partners and rivals, the Social Democrats (SPD). Merkel hopes to form a coalition with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), and voter surveys give her just enough support for such a centre-right alliance. However, other ruling partnerships are possible, including a second "grand coalition", grouping Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) and the SPD. Below are the most various coalition scenarios and how they would likely affect German energy policy:

New Delhi: As a Congresswoman, Ellen O. Tauscher strongly opposed the U.S.-India nuclear deal. But President Barack Obama's nominee for a key non-proliferation post in the State Department did a U-turn on Tuesday, telling a Senate panel that the new administration supports the agreement and intends to implement it and that she would do her part to further nuclear cooperation with India if confirmed in the job of Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Ms. Tauscher's views were expressed in a series of answers to written questions posed by Senator Richard Lugar.

On July 17, 1955, this tiny town, which might otherwise have forever escaped notoriety of any kind, was put on the map for a very historic reason: It became the first place in the "free world" to be powered by "electrical energy developed from the atom." The power was generated by an experimental reactor run by the nearby National Reactor Testing Station, and the flipping of the switch seemed to usher in a new era for the United States and the world: the nuclear era. Over time, the U.S. and other countries grew more and more attracted to the idea of nuclear power as a major alternative to fossil fuel-based power. But by the 1980s and early 1990s, the country had lost its appetite for the fuel source. It was seen as dangerous, too closely related to nuclear weapons, and too productive of nuclear waste, and gradually, the number of working nuclear power plants got smaller and smaller. In many places, in fact, the mere mention of nuclear power will draw a dirty stare.

With all of the brouhaha following Defense Secretary Gates' announcement yesterday to scale back on wasteful defense programs, it has not yet been mentioned that Gates also announced an additional budget request of $700 million for "nuclear surety." Surety means making sure nuclear weapons cannot be used by those who did not create them and may have stolen them. But there is much debate over whether or not we even have a surety problem--we've spoken with several insiders who say there isn't one. While the new funding came up during the Q & A at yesterday's Pentagon press conference as it related to nuclear stewardship across the DOD enterprise based on the non-specific recommendations of the Schlesinger task force's report, it's not exactly clear what DoD will use these funds for.

"On Monday, the Department of Energy (DOE) Inspector General (IG) released a report on why it has been taking so long for DOE to secure the stock of Uranium-233 (U-233) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The stock of U-233, a highly radioactive isotope with dangerous properties, still sits in a "deteriorating" ORNL facility even though DOE began planning to dispose of the material back in 2001. As some of you may recall, POGO actually has some pretty direct experience with this material. During a 2005 site visit, POGO investigators were able to park in front of the ORNL building that held the 1,000 cans of U-233 and walk around for about 15 minutes before guards finally approached them and escorted them from the area. We determined that ORNL was the most vulnerable site in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex."

"After his State of the Union address, we expected environmental groups to protest President Barack Obama's declaration to advance nuclear power. We're pleased the outrage already spans the political spectrum, with many stops in between. Add us to the complainers. The new federal budget proposes to triple loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants, from $18.5 billion to $54 billion. This worsens a bad situation. As usual in Washington, it also relies on taxpayers to pay for the grief. Article Tab : In this Jan. 20, 2010 file photo, Energy Secretary Steven Chu addresses the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington. In an effort to win over Republicans and moderate Democrats on climate and energy legislation, President Barack Obama is endorsing nuclear energy like never before, calling for a new generation of nuclear power plants to be built around the country. Mr. Obama's nuclear power push irritates environmentalists, to whom all things nuclear are nonstarters. But the president proposed this payoff to the nuclear lobby to win GOP support for his horrendous energy bill, stalled in Congress. The greenhouse-gas limiting legislation was bad enough already with the crippling economic consequences of its carbon cap-and-trade regulations. Mr. Obama's commitment would pile on even more federal interference and potential costs. Some critics rightly describe the scheme as another potential multibillion dollar f"

"In the midst of initiating a federal spending freeze, it is shocking that President Obama's FY 2011 Budget Request released this week pours billions of dollars into two unnecessary nuclear weapons construction projects. There is no demonstrated requirement for either the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at the Y-12 National Security Complex nor the Chemical and Metallurgical Research Replacement Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). "Contrary to the spin, neither of these facilities are needed to ensure the safety, security and effectiveness of our weapons," says Peter Stockton, POGO Senior Investigator. In addition, DOE does not even have an estimated cost for completing the projects, as the budget describes their total costs as "TBD." "To Be a Disaster," is what POGO fears that term means, based on DOE's atrocious record of soaring construction costs and overruns. For example, the cost of the Highly Enriched Uranium Manufacturing Facility (HEUMF) at Y-12 ballooned from $97 million to $549 million. "

"Radioactive waste from Norway's Halden and Kjeller research reactors could be sent to Russia, according to a report ordered by the Norwegian government's Ministry of Trade and Industry in what Bellona is calling an "unacceptable" move. Waste from the two research reactors are in need of new temporary storage and the and the Trade and Industry Ministry has appointed a technical committee to examine the possibilities. The Committee, in its report, has suggested, among other things, sending the waste to Russia's Mayak Chemical Combine, the country's long ailing central reprocessing facility in the southern Urals. "It would be totally irresponsible to send the Norwegian nuclear waste to Mayak in Russia," Nils Bøhmer, Bellona's nuclear physicist and director said bluntly. "

If your kid accidentally blew apart a building, would you give them less supervision? This hands-off approach is exactly what the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is doing by giving the contractors who manage the nation's eight nuclear weapons sites (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Nevada Test Site, Sandia National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, Pantex, Y-12, and the Kansas City Plant) a six-month break from many regularly scheduled oversight reviews.

If your kid accidentally blew apart a building, would you give them less supervision? This hands-off approach is exactly what the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is doing by giving the contractors who manage the nation's eight nuclear weapons sites (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Nevada Test Site, Sandia National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, Pantex, Y-12, and the Kansas City Plant) a six-month break from many regularly scheduled oversight reviews.

"On Tuesday, POGO Investigator Ingrid Drake presented to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on revisions to the Enforcement and Allegations programs, which handles allegations that come in about safety issues or security concerns at nuclear power plants. POGO made recommendations last year to the NRC staff, who were revising the programs in response to the Peach Bottom debacle A bit of background: the NRC hears from approximately 500-600 allegers each year. There was an increase to about 650 allegations in 2009. NRC substantiates about 30 percent, and 10 percent require a significant regulatory response."

"Realizing that there is mounting doubt on the Hill in the wisdom of spending billions of dollars on four new buildings for the creation of new components for nuclear weapons, the directors of three national laboratories are going on the offensive. As Politico reports, the directors of Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories have challenged the findings, and frankly, the credibility, of one of the most independent and respected technical expert groups, JASON. Last year, JASON found that the life of the nation's nuclear warheads, including plutonium pits and HEU (highly enriched uranium) secondaries, can be extended safely and certifiably for decades without replacement."

"As a 21-year-old, Ric Johnstone drove 150 miles daily across the scorching vastness of the Australian outback to work. A motor mechanic in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), he spent 1956 servicing military vehicles in the Great Victorian Desert. He lived with 300 other men in a tent town, eating dinners of bullied beef with the occasional vegetable. Johnstone described his first six months as similar to being a prisoner in a chain gang: "There was no church, no women, no entertainment, nothing.""

"Savannah River Site officials emphasized their efforts to improve safety during a meeting Thursday of the Governor's Nuclear Advisory Council. "The federal staff as well as the contractors are all working hard to reverse what we were seeing as a negative trend in those agency statistics, given the number of incidents in late 2009," said Karen Guevara, assistant manager for closure at SRS. "Together we believe we are restoring the credibility in the site's safety posture, and most importantly, are better able today to ensure all our Savannah River Site employees return home healthy and free of injury at the end of every work day.""

"In the last few months, the PR team for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Lab has certainly earned its keep. Even though the project is not complete, 400 percent over budget, at least 10 years behind schedule, and hiding its costs within other Lab program budgets, it has gotten a lot of buzz in the media. However, today, the GAO released a report stating that it is too soon to say that the project is a success, and that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Lab have conducted "weak oversight" of the project. From the report:"

"Reprocessing of nuclear waste is neither an affordable remedy for future waste disposal in the United States nor will it eliminate the need for a deep geologic repository to replace Yucca Mountain, according to a recent study released by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), a nonprofit and nonpartisan research group. Even as some are urging the Obama Administration's blue-ribbon panel on nuclear waste to consider the options of reprocessing and breeder reactors, the IEER study looks at the global experience - including those of France and Britain - and finds that both approaches are widely misunderstood in the United States. France has not solved its nuclear waste problems and now needs a repository in face of strong public opposition to the development of such a facility."

This web page has the official reports on the radiation readings around the Fukushima evacuation area.

We are current or former federal employees who "blew whistles" about agency wrongdoing and experienced unlawful reprisal for doing our lawful duty. This should worry America - that federal employees with significant responsibilities for public safety are punished for doing their duty in an age of all-too-possible catastrophic terrorist attacks. We put the blame largely upon the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and desire Congress and/or the Obama administration to do the oversight necessary to substantiate or dispel our concerns. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel was created by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 with an unprecedented mandate as a federal law enforcement agency - to protect civilian federal employees from agency lawbreaking, specifically violations of the "merit principles" of the federal civil service (termed "prohibited personnel practices," most particularly from the whistleblower reprisal type).

We are current or former federal employees who "blew whistles" about agency wrongdoing and experienced unlawful reprisal for doing our lawful duty. This should worry America - that federal employees with significant responsibilities for public safety are punished for doing their duty in an age of all-too-possible catastrophic terrorist attacks. We put the blame largely upon the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and desire Congress and/or the Obama administration to do the oversight necessary to substantiate or dispel our concerns. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel was created by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 with an unprecedented mandate as a federal law enforcement agency - to protect civilian federal employees from agency lawbreaking, specifically violations of the "merit principles" of the federal civil service (termed "prohibited personnel practices," most particularly from the whistleblower reprisal type).