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I received an e-mail this afternoon from Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, and he reported that the Energy and Water conference report contains $94 million for the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12. The activist group, which is closely tracking UPF and other spending in the nuclear weapons program, has a similar report on its Web site. Here's what Coghlan wrote: Frank: Looks like Y-12 is being awarded far more than just environmental awards to hang on the wall. Buried in the budget numbers of the House/Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Conference Report is $94 million for a construction project designated as "06-D-141 Project Engineering and Design (PED), Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, TN."

I received an e-mail this afternoon from Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, and he reported that the Energy and Water conference report contains $94 million for the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12. The activist group, which is closely tracking UPF and other spending in the nuclear weapons program, has a similar report on its Web site. Here's what Coghlan wrote: Frank: Looks like Y-12 is being awarded far more than just environmental awards to hang on the wall. Buried in the budget numbers of the House/Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Conference Report is $94 million for a construction project designated as "06-D-141 Project Engineering and Design (PED), Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, TN."

03.05.09 Savannah River Site Public Tours Aiken, SC 03.05.09 Portsmouth Site Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Piketon, OH 03.05.09 Scoping Mtg.: EIS on Proposed Loan Guarantee for TX Energy, LLC, Industrial Gasification Facility Beaumont, TX 03.11.09 Nevada Test Site/Environmental Management Community Advisory Board Mtg. Las Vegas, NV 03.11.09 Oak Ridge Site Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Oak Ridge, TN 03.11.09 Savannah River Site Public Tours Aiken, SC 03.12.09 Paducah Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Paducah, KY 03.18.09 - 03.19.09 Environmental Management Site Advisory Board Chairs' Mtg. Augusta, GA 03.23.09 - 03.24.09 Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Aiken, SC 03.24.09 Savannah River Site Public Tours Aiken, SC 03.25.09 Northern NM Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Santa Fe, NM 03.31.09 Public Mtg.: Revised Draft EIS on Decommissioning and/or Long-term Stewardship at West Valley Demonstration Project Irving, NY 03.31.09 Idaho National Lab/Environmental Management Citizens Advisory Board Mtg.

03.05.09 Savannah River Site Public Tours Aiken, SC 03.05.09 Portsmouth Site Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Piketon, OH 03.05.09 Scoping Mtg.: EIS on Proposed Loan Guarantee for TX Energy, LLC, Industrial Gasification Facility Beaumont, TX 03.11.09 Nevada Test Site/Environmental Management Community Advisory Board Mtg. Las Vegas, NV 03.11.09 Oak Ridge Site Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Oak Ridge, TN 03.11.09 Savannah River Site Public Tours Aiken, SC 03.12.09 Paducah Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Paducah, KY 03.18.09 - 03.19.09 Environmental Management Site Advisory Board Chairs' Mtg. Augusta, GA 03.23.09 - 03.24.09 Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Aiken, SC 03.24.09 Savannah River Site Public Tours Aiken, SC 03.25.09 Northern NM Citizens Advisory Board Mtg. Santa Fe, NM 03.31.09 Public Mtg.: Revised Draft EIS on Decommissioning and/or Long-term Stewardship at West Valley Demonstration Project Irving, NY 03.31.09 Idaho National Lab/Environmental Management Citizens Advisory Board Mtg.

"A measure intended to block a "back-door" method of dumping radioactive waste in Tennessee is headed for a vote in the state Senate after a key committee approved the bill Tuesday. A Utah-based company, EnergySolutions, said it is requesting only to treat nuclear material at its Oak Ridge facility and then ship it out of state. But state Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, who sponsored the bill, said banning the practice of "downblending" nuclear material - which involves diluting radioactive waste with less toxic materials - is the only way to avoid becoming "the world's radioactive dumping grounds." "This is about stopping this process that no one else does and has never been done commercially," Berke said."

"The verdict in the Bhopal gas tragedy case has sparked renewed protests against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) by locals who are prepared to strongly oppose the installation of three more proposed units - III, IV and V - at the atomic power plant. Street campaigns and public meetings have been organised against the new units after villagers, dismayed by the Bhopal judgement, discovered that the officials in the six districts that will be worst affected in case of a disaster at the plant have no emergency preparedness plan. The street campaigns and three public meetings against Koodankulam in Kanyakumari district after the Bhopal verdict attracted a good audience, said National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements coordinator S.P. Udayakumar. "The Nadars and Pillaimars earlier kept away from the anti-nuclear and anti-Koodankulam campaigns, calling them anti-development," he noted. "But the Bhopal verdict made them realise how irresponsible our government is towards people's safety.""

Critics had some harsh words for the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday regarding a draft environmental impact statement prepared for a proposed program meant to safely, securely and sustainably expand the use of nuclear energy. DOE has prepared the statement for what is known as the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, and officials had a public hearing on the program at the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. First proposed by the Bush Administration, GNEP would expand the use of nuclear power as an energy source, both domestically and internationally. Officials say it would also strive to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation and limit the impacts of getting rid of spent nuclear fuel.

A city board endorsed a property tax abatement on Tuesday that could be worth $5 million. It's the largest tax break approved by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board since the abatement policies -- designed to lure new businesses to town -- went into effect several years ago.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., last week introduced legislation that would ensure compensation for the families of sick former nuclear workers won't be taken away in cases where sick workers or their eligible survivors die before their claims are processed. "We should not allow an inefficient bureaucracy to run out the clock through a claims process that takes so long that our Cold War heroes are dying before their claims are processed, leaving their families with no compensation," Alexander said in a press release. "The men and women who built our nuclear deterrent -- and their families -- deserve better. According to estimates from the Department of Labor, this will affect approximately 1,200 current and future claimants."

A Monday morning fire at the Y-12 National Security Complex resulted in the evacuation of 95 employees, including two who were taken to Y-12 Occupational Health Services and released. "Emergency response personnel at the Y-12 National Security Complex are responding to a fire at the Oak Ridge facility," stated a 10:24 a.m. e-mail from the Y-12 Site Office.

Officials at the Y-12 National Security Complex confirmed Wednesday that they are assessing the cleanup of a World War II-era facility as a result of a major waterline break that occurred on Saturday. In response to a request for information on the incident, Y-12 spokeswoman Ellen Boatner provided The Oak Ridger with the following statement Wednesday afternoon: "While potable water did overflow into the East Fork Poplar Creek, no permit violations have been detected and there are no impacts to aquatic life."

When: * June 25, 2008-- 11:30 am and 12:30 pm Where: * Dept of Labor's Cleveland District Office 1001 Lakeside Ave.; * Denver, Co District office 1999 Broadway; * Espanola, NM District office 412 Paseo De Onate, Suite D; * Oak Ridge, TN 800 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Suite C-103; * Las Vegas, NV--Flamingo Executive Park, 1050 E. Flamingo Rd, W-156 Contact:* Terrie Barrie, Alliance of Nuclear Workers Advocacy Groups, for more information 970-824-2260, tbarrie@yahoo.com

Radioactive waste resulting from decades of research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is being prepared for shipment to Utah for long-term storage. Heavily shielded rooms with robotic arms called "hot cells" are now at work sorting and packing the material into 55-gallon drums. Some waste dates to the World War II Manhattan Project.

If set off in a place like New York City, a nuclear bomb could "totally disrupt" the United States' economy and society, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory director said. Local employees are working to try to prevent that from happening, said Larry Satkowiak, ORNL director of global security and nonproliferation programs. He said about 150 Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees are involved in a variety of efforts designed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, including inspections, international negotiations and export controls, and removal of hazardous equipment and materials from countries like Libya and Iraq.

A uranium isotope is a uranium isotope, regardless of its country of origin. But for two Democratic congressmen, there's a problem with low-level nuclear waste from Italy being dumped in Utah, even though plenty of radioactive refuse has already been deposited there from U.S. sources. The controversy first arose when Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions sought a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to import up to 20,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste from Italy's defunct nuclear power program. After processing in Tennessee, 1,600 tons would be left to be buried in Clive, Utah. The NRC informed Reps. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Bart Gordon (D-TN) on Monday that it doesn't have the authority to prevent foreign radioactive waste from being imported into the United States. As long as the material can be imported safely and someone is willing to accept it, the commission's hands are tied. Since the NRC won't help, Matheson and Gordon have decided to sponsor a bill that would ban the importation of low-level radioactive waste unless the nuclear material originated in the U.S. or the waste was imported for a strategic national purpose. The two congressmen have been joined by Utah's Republican governor,. Jon Huntsman, who is opposed to the waste coming to his state.

"OAK RIDGE, Tenn. Calling for an end to nuclear weapons and power, about 30 activists began a three-month peace walk on Saturday from the Y-12 National Security Complex to the United Nations in New York City. The long journey kicked off Saturday morning with an "opening circle" that included about 40 people in front of the Y-12 entrance on Scarboro Road. The walkers, including participants from Australia and France, have a message to deliver at the United Nations -- where they will meet up with other groups from Massachusetts, New York and Washington, D.C., at the opening of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference in early May."

The Department of Energy is drilling a series of wells south of the Clinch River to ensure no nuclear waste from Oak Ridge has migrated underground into its neighbors' backyards along Jones Road. "We have not found any evidence of any contamination south of the river," said David Adler with the Department of Energy. "This is completely a precautionary measure." North of the Clinch River on DOE property is where nuclear waste was buried from the 1940s until the '80s. The groundwater in this area is known to be contaminated from the hazardous materials. However, recently there were signs that the material may be moving towards the river.

The Department of Energy is drilling a series of wells south of the Clinch River to ensure no nuclear waste from Oak Ridge has migrated underground into its neighbors' backyards along Jones Road. "We have not found any evidence of any contamination south of the river," said David Adler with the Department of Energy. "This is completely a precautionary measure." North of the Clinch River on DOE property is where nuclear waste was buried from the 1940s until the '80s. The groundwater in this area is known to be contaminated from the hazardous materials. However, recently there were signs that the material may be moving towards the river.

Tennessee lawmakers want more information on a state program that allows low-level radioactive waste into regular landfills around the state. State Rep. Brenda Gilmore of Nashville told The Nashville Tennessean that she plans to push a bill to restrict the practice. A similar measure ground to a halt last year. Gilmore says a strong lobbying effort from the industry stopped it. State officials say Tennessee's program was developed because of its proximity to so many nuclear facilities and doesn't handle cases individually. Instead it has a licensing process that makes disposal more economical and quicker here.

Tennessee lawmakers want more information on a state program that allows low-level radioactive waste into regular landfills around the state. State Rep. Brenda Gilmore of Nashville told The Nashville Tennessean that she plans to push a bill to restrict the practice. A similar measure ground to a halt last year. Gilmore says a strong lobbying effort from the industry stopped it. State officials say Tennessee's program was developed because of its proximity to so many nuclear facilities and doesn't handle cases individually. Instead it has a licensing process that makes disposal more economical and quicker here.

The largest tax break given under city policies in effect for several years might have to be revised now that USEC Inc. and its partner and contractors have begun laying off employees, city officials said last week. The property tax break, valued at up to $5 million over a 10-year period, was approved about a year ago -- before USEC ran into trouble getting a big loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy. The $2 billion guarantee would have been used for work on USEC's American Centrifuge Program.

The largest tax break given under city policies in effect for several years might have to be revised now that USEC Inc. and its partner and contractors have begun laying off employees, city officials said last week. The property tax break, valued at up to $5 million over a 10-year period, was approved about a year ago -- before USEC ran into trouble getting a big loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy. The $2 billion guarantee would have been used for work on USEC's American Centrifuge Program.

"Gov. Phil Bredesen said Tuesday that he would work with State Sen. Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) and other federal and state lawmakers to keep more than 500 ammunition production jobs at the Milan Arsenal. Bredesen has brought thousands of jobs to this state, and he told me today that he is just as intent in keeping them here, Finney said after wrapping up a Monday afternoon conference call with Governor Phil Bredesen and other state officials regarding the arsenal. An Army proposal would move the jobs to Iowa and replace them with depleted uranium to be stored at the Milan facility. "The exchange is an unfair one for Gibson and Carroll counties, which are already suffering with double-digit unemployment." "Here you have rural counties that could use some help, and now they re talking about taking away more jobs," Finney said. "I'm not going to sit back and let that happen. We need to show that we are serious about keeping these jobs." "