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Currently, the Callaway Nuclear Plant in Callaway County, MO is planning to build another nuclear unit. Nuclear power is a source of energy that has gotten a bad reputation in the Untied States. Incidents, such as Chernobyl, have scared the American public and have given Nuclear a bad connotation. Plants that are being built now are nothing like the one at Chernobyl. They have mechanisms that make it nearly impossible for a melt down ever to occur. The safety requirements created by the NRC have made nuclear plants safe in regards to radiation. Pilots receive more radiation than nuclear plant workers per year. Knowing this, and living in a country that is so dependent on fossil fuels made us very excited to see the potential for more energy to come from nuclear. Although, we support the additional reactor at Callaway, we think that the proposed plan has higher environmental cost than it needs to.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the combined license (COL) application for an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the Callaway site near Fulton, Mo. Ameren submitted the application and associated information July 28. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/callaway.html. Ameren is seeking approval to build and operate an EPR at the site, approximately 10 miles southeast of Fulton. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application Dec. 11, 2007, to certify the design. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

The 2009 legislative session will address the need for more base-load electricity generation in Missouri. Ameren Corp. serves 1.2 million Missouri electric customers representing nearly 50% of Missouri's total consumption. They expect demand to increase 30% by 2020. Ameren is seeking the necessary licenses and funding to construct a second nuclear unit at their existing Callaway nuclear facility near Fulton, MO. Some changes to Missouri laws regulating electric utilities may be needed in order for Ameren or any utility to finance new base-load plants.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for a new reactor at the Callaway site near Fulton, Mo. The applicant, Ameren, submitted the application and associated information July 28. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/callaway.html. The Ameren application seeks approval to build and operate an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the site, approximately 10 miles southeast of Fulton. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application Dec. 11, 2007, to certify the design. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Decision To Evaluate a Petition To Designate a Class of Employees for the Tyson Valley Powder Farm, St. Louis, MO, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort

The mayors of several North St. Louis cities are being asked to encourage the St. Louis County Council on Tuesday to request that the Environmental Protection Agency excavate radioactive waste, not just cover it up, from the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Mo., that is upstream from a plant that provides drinking water to some St. Louis residents.

Notice of Environmental Assessment Related to the Issuance of a License Amendment to Byproduct Material License No. 24-32439-01, for the Unrestricted Release of a Pharmacia Corporation Building in St. Louis, MO AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Issuance of environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact for license amendment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Streit, Health Physicist, Materials Control, ISFSI, and Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials and Safety, Region III, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2443 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532; telephone: (630) 829-9621; fax number: (630) 515-1259; or by email at Katherine.Streit@nrc.gov.

Forgotten about for 50 years, an odd stash yields clues about above-ground nuclear tests and cancer They were locked away in an ammunition bunker near St. Louis, Mo., in dozens of cardboard boxes. Each was in its own manila envelope, with an index card identifying the donor. These 85,000 baby teeth were collected in the late 1950s and early 1960s to study the effects of radioactive fallout in the environment. The fallout came from hundreds of above-ground nuclear tests in America and other parts of the world. The radioactive isotope Strontium-90, one of the by-products of the bombs, spread into the atmosphere, fell onto the land, was ingested by dairy cows and passed into the milk supply. Strontium-90, like calcium, was concentrated in children's teeth in detectable amounts. In 1958 scientists in St. Louis began a campaign to collect baby teeth to study the link between above-ground testing and human exposure. The undisputed link between the tests and a radioactive element in baby teeth provided much of the impetus for the 1963 Test Ban Treaty, which outlawed above-ground nuclear weapons-testing.

he U.S. Government Accountability Office has found that the National Nuclear Security Administration's is not doing enough to prevent rogue actors from acquiring nuclear-weapon components from at least one facility, the Kansas City Star reported yesterday (see GSN, June 8). The GAO report focuses on current operations and plans for a site that would replace a facility in Kansas City. Mo. The Kansas City Plant, overseen by the nuclear agency and managed by a private contractor, produces 85 percent of the non-nuclear components that go into building the average nuclear weapon. Congressional auditors said it has not done enough to ensure that sensitive "dual-use" equipment does not fall into the hands of terrorist organizations or foreign countries.

he U.S. Government Accountability Office has found that the National Nuclear Security Administration's is not doing enough to prevent rogue actors from acquiring nuclear-weapon components from at least one facility, the Kansas City Star reported yesterday (see GSN, June 8). The GAO report focuses on current operations and plans for a site that would replace a facility in Kansas City. Mo. The Kansas City Plant, overseen by the nuclear agency and managed by a private contractor, produces 85 percent of the non-nuclear components that go into building the average nuclear weapon. Congressional auditors said it has not done enough to ensure that sensitive "dual-use" equipment does not fall into the hands of terrorist organizations or foreign countries.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced the opportunity to participate in a hearing on a Combined License (COL) application for a new nuclear reactor at the Callaway site near Fulton, Mo. AmerenUE submitted the COL application and associated information July 24, 2008, and updated the application on Sept. 24, 2008, and Nov. 14, 2008. AmerenUE seeks approval to build and operate an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the site, approximately 10 miles southeast of Fulton. The NRC is currently reviewing the EPR for possible certification. The Callaway application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/callaway.html.

In Mississippi County, where nearly a fourth of the residents live in poverty, farmers have a long history of making a living off what springs from the flat, fertile lowlands - soybeans, corn, timber. But now a geologist has come to the area with promises of millions of dollars in jobs and benefits and a theory about what may be tucked deep inside the crevices under the Mississippi River Valley. It could be one of the "biggest deposits of undiscovered uranium in the U.S.," said John Gustavson, a geologist. "The future market for uranium is there."

SPRINGFIELD, Mo., June 18 (Reuters) - Republican John McCain promised on Wednesday to put the United States on course to build 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030 if elected president as part of a plan to move the country toward energy independence.

A Missouri House committee added some consumer protections Tuesday while endorsing legislation designed to help AmerenUE build a second nuclear power plant. But the bill still has a long way to go before passage. The House Utilities Committee approved the bill 12-1 after making some changes designed to help consumers. But the legislation still faces resistance from some senators and from Gov. Jay Nixon, who contends AmerenUE should get a federal license for a second power plant before any state laws are changed.

Thanks to everyone who contacted the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) and their Members of Congress two weeks ago, urging an extension of DOE's public comment period on its proposed weakening of taxpayer protections in its nuclear loan guarantee program. Under pressure from concerned citizens and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), DOE extended the comment deadline from Sept. 8th to Sept. 22nd. Now we must take advantage of this extension to get our comments in! DOE's most clearly outrageous proposal is to give up its "first lien" in the event of a new reactor loan repayment default. This would mean that taxpayers would be placed behind other lenders, such as foreign export-import banks, in terms of receiving compensation. Thus, taxpayers likely would not be compensated at all, but rather left holding the bag for billions when a new reactor or uranium enrichment facility goes belly up. The Congressional Budget Office has predicted, based on the nuclear industry's history, that well over half of all new reactors could default on their loans. Taxpayers' liability for dozens of new reactor loan guarantees could reach into the hundreds of billions of dollars. DOE's rule change would increase, not decrease, taxpayer risk.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting July 28 in Bruneau, Idaho, to brief members of the public on a proposal by Westinghouse Electric Co. to dispose of low-activity radioactive materials at the U.S. Ecology Disposal Facility in Grand View, Idaho. The meeting will take place from 6 - 8:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of Rimrock Jr. Sr. High School, 39678 State Highway 78, in Bruneau. Westinghouse is currently decommissioning its Hematite nuclear fuel fabrication facility in Jefferson County, Mo. Westinghouse has requested a license amendment and authorization from the NRC to dispose of some low-activity radioactive waste - including small amounts of "special nuclear material" (enriched uranium and plutonium) - at the U.S. Ecology facility. Westinghouse has also asked the NRC to exempt U.S. Ecology from the agency's licensing requirements for radioactive byproduct material and special nuclear material.

Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees at Tyson Valley Powder Farm near Eureka, Missouri, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On March 31, 2009, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: All Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who worked at Tyson Valley Powder Farm near Eureka, Missouri, from February 13, 1946 through June 30, 1948, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the SEC.

Electric consumers across Missouri are receiving phone calls and fliers suggesting they should be wary of legislation designed to help AmerenUE build a second nuclear power plant. They're coming from former Republican House Speaker Rod Jetton, who left office just three months ago but now is a political consultant helping coordinate the opposition to one of biggest legislative issues of the year.

"Questions of who oversees radiation therapy professionals have arisen after scores of cancer patients were exposed to dangerous radiation levels over a five-year period at a Springfield hospital. The Springfield News-Leader reported that the two national boards responsible for certifying medical physicists don't revoke certifications after accidents like the one at CoxHealth, which affected 76 patients. The boards' officials said state licensing officials have the responsibility in these kinds of scenarios. But Missouri doesn't license medical physicists or anybody else responsible for radiation therapy."

Groups trying to pave the way for a second AmerenUE nuclear plant in Missouri have a new weapon in Jefferson City - a top lobbyist for environmentalists. Irl L. Scissors, who previously represented a leading Missouri environmental and conservation alliance, last week announced in an e-mail to leaders of that group he was going to work to help undo the law that prohibits utilities from charging customers for power plants under construction.

Call it the alphabet soup rule. You can tell how important an issue is in the Legislature by how many groups with long acronyms line up behind it or against it. In the battle over AmerenUE's attempt to change Missouri law so that it can charge consumers higher rates while building its proposed nuclear plant in Callaway County, the first salvo was fired by MEDA, or the Missouri Energy Development Association. The group represents most of the state's utilities, and, of course, it's in favor of the plant. MEDA's Warren Wood makes the bill sound like it's pro-consumer, pro-environment.