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A SMALL TWEAKING: While delays were likely for the fourth nuclear plant, the AEC said that more advanced technology would boost total output by 1.7 percent Taipower chairman Chen Kuei-ming told the legislature yesterday an additional NT$40 billion (US$1.15 billion) to NT$50 billion would be needed if the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is to reach a stage where its two generator units can begin operations in 2011 and 2012. The additional funding would bring the construction costs at the Gongliao, Taipei County, plant to between NT$270 billion and NT$280 billion, Chen said.

The Hibakusha keep telling their stories. As Hiroshima and Nagasaki prepare for the upcoming 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing, Hibakusha all over the country continue to talk about that day, and to press for a nuclear ban. It was good news when the leader of the one nation in the world that has used the atomic bomb spoke of America's moral obligation and declared that he "seeks a world where there are no nuclear weapons." But the Hibakusha are wary of lapsing into an easy optimism. After all, nuclear weapons continue to spread to all corners of the world.

"We do not believe that Israel will embark on the development of nuclear weapons with the aim of actually starting a nuclear war," reads the declassified 48-year-old CIA Special National Intelligence Estimate. The estimate, publicly released June 5 by George Washington University's National Security Archives, continues, "Possession of a nuclear weapon capability, or even the prospect of achieving it, would clearly give Israel a greater sense of security, self-confidence and assertiveness."

The Swiss government on Wednesday ordered the quick destruction of about 100 pages of evidence linked to an investigation of three Swiss engineers suspected of smuggling nuclear weapons technology. The Cabinet said the documents were "the most explosive" material in a file of more than 1,000 pages related to the case against the Tinner family, which is suspected of links to the nuclear smuggling network of Abdul Qadeer Khan - the creator of Pakistan's atomic bomb. The documents are copies of files destroyed in 2007 under a previous order that led to protests from lawmakers and legal experts, who said the government undermined the prosecution in the smuggling case. The copies were found in prosecutors' archives last December. Citing security concerns and its legal obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the Cabinet, or Federal Council, said that about 100 pages dealing with atomic weapons designs would be shredded shortly to keep them out of "the wrong hands." It didn't give a date for the destruction.

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."

A group of U.S. engineers and technicians sat down one day in 2001 to figure out where the nation's future nuclear power plant fuel was going to come from. Their decision was to leap backward 30 years and re-engineer an idea perfected during the Cold War and then abandoned here in 1985. The technology -- an ultra-high-speed, 40-foot-high centrifuge that can produce enriched uranium -- was hunted down in government archives. At first, it was an adventure in industrial archaeology. "All the drawings and the specs were in a vault at [the National Laboratory] at Oak Ridge [Tenn.]," explained Daniel W. Rogers, who became general manager of the resurrected program. "We spent a year looking at them."

Thyroid cancer seems to be more aggressive in patients who were exposed to radiation at work or for treatment of another condition, a Canadian study says. Survivors of atomic bombs and children living near areas contaminated by the 1986 nuclear reactor accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine suggest radiation is linked to both benign and malignant thyroid tumours, according to the study in the April issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. In the 1950s and 60s, people were radiated for benign conditions such as acne, ear problems or fungal infections of the skin and the chest. "[T]his study suggests that patients who have been exposed to radiation have more aggressive disease and worse clinical outcome than other patients with thyroid cancer and, therefore, may require more aggressive treatment," Dr. Jeremy Freeman, chair of otolaryngology at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, and his colleagues concluded in the study.

"Nuclear power accounted for nearly 20 percent of the electricity generated in the United States in 2008. Oklahoman graphics illustration Multimedia Photoview all photos More Info By the numbers Nuclear power statistics * 19.6: Percentage of U.S. electric generation derived from nuclear reactors in 2008 * 14: Percentage of electricity generated by nuclear power worldwide in 2008 * 31: States with operational nuclear reactors * 6: States that derive the largest percentage of their electricity from nuclear power * 104: Number of operational nuclear reactors in the U.S. * 1982: Year Public Service Co. of Oklahoma canceled plans to build a nuclear plant near Inola Source: Nuclear Energy Institute, Oklahoman archives Advocates such as the Nuclear Energy Institute claim it is the country's "largest source of clean-air, carbon-free electricity, producing no greenhouse gases or air pollutants." Nuclear also has the lowest operations and maintenance costs of any fuel source, NEI spokesman Mitch Singer said. But none of that matters to Oklahoma's two largest power companies. "We have no plans to build or explore a nuclear option," Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. spokesman Brian Alford said. "It's cost prohibitive for utilities of our size.""

"The abatement of global warming should never depend on the proliferation of nuclear power. For decades, atomic scientists have speculated through sheer mathematical odds the inevitable possibilities of nuclear disasters. Nuclear weapons, accidents, and complications with proper waste disposal are all determining factors in this theory. Limited public awareness bolstered by political and economic propaganda has led to a resurgence of a pro-nuclear mentality. Climate change, depletion of resources, and shortages of energy are all supposed justifications for such a mindset. Since nuclear power does not contribute to global warming, many misinformed individuals consider it a green technology. Regardless of global warming, true green energy technology should never carry with it the risk of Armageddon, let alone dangerous radioactive contamination"

"Protests were held in several European countries over the weekend against the last American nuclear weapons remaining on the continent. The hundreds of protesters who turned out were a far cry from the massive demonstrations of the 1980s. By Marjolein van de Water in Uden * Archive - Labour party wants US nuclear weapons removed from Dutch soil * Opinion - 'We must play an active role to establish a nuclear weapon free world' "Will I get fined if I pee against a tree?" a young man with dreadlocks asked a police officer. The officer, pointed him in the direction of a couple of portable toilets 50 metres away. The boy trudged over to answer to nature's call. "

"An Idaho company is moving closer in its effort to build a nuclear power plant in Payette County. Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. officially filed a rezone application on Tuesday, June 22, asking that 5,000 acres of land near New Plymouth be converted from agriculture to industrial use. In April, Payette County Commissioners unanimously approved a change to their county's comprehensive plan, opening the door for a rezone application. A slate of hearings are expected to attract opponents and proponents of the plant, which Alternate Energy claims will create 5,000 jobs. Dates have yet to be announced, but check back to Citydesk for updates."

"Exelon plans to end its distribution of bottled water July 30 to some residents of Godley and others affected by radioactive tritium found in 2005 in groundwater wells near the Braidwood Nuclear Plant. Exelon has been providing up to 20 gallons of bottled water per week to some households for the past four years, according to a press statement released Friday. "Only about 150 of the more than 400 eligible participants are currently taking advantage of the bottled water program," said Exelon spokesman Neal Miller. "

"Sweden is to build new nuclear power stations in defiance of a 1980 referendum when Swedes voted to phase out atomic power. After a debate in which Sweden's need for climate friendly, low carbon energy clashed with environmental concerns over atomic energy, Swedish MPs narrowly voted to build new nuclear reactor on Thursday night. "A few months ago, the climate threat dominated the environmental debate. Now it is the oil disaster in the Mexican Gulf that is sparking the world's interest and horror," said Andreas Carlgren, the Swedish environment minister during a heated debate. Related Articles * Eight new nuclear power stations planned for England * Warning signs on nuclear power * Honduras lifts overnight curfew * Iran election: 'unprecedented' turnout boosts challenge to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad * Britain's atomic test veterans remember nuclear tests of 1950s * Iran's president opens door to talks with US on nuclear programme "Both are really two sides of the same coin, namely, we must leave the dependency on oil and fossil energy behind." Construction will begin next year to replace the 10 ageing reactors that still produce 40 per cent of Sweden's electricity. But Sweden's centre-Left opposition, currently running neck and neck with the government in opinion polls ahead of elections is September, have vowed to reinstate the ban. "

"Canada's nuclear watchdog is fast-tracking a request for a hearing to consider reopening the country's aging medical isotope-producing reactor. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. made a request Friday for a formal hearing in hopes of restarting medical isotope production at the Ontario plant by mid-summer. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has not yet scheduled a hearing, which is expected to take one day, but it said the date would be announced quickly and normal hearing rules will be tossed aside to deal with what it calls a priority case. "

"The government has no plans to bring forward the commercial operations of the fourth nuclear power plant as safety remains its top priority, Executive Yuan spokesman Johnny Chiang said. Chiang dismissed local media reports that Premier Wu Den-yih had asked the plant's builders to move its scheduled opening from the end of next year to Oct. 10 to coincide with the country's 100th founding anniversary next year. Chiang said the premier was briefed by officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Atomic Energy Council and Taiwan Power Company earlier on Friday on the plant's construction progress, and Wu instructed them to monitor its building to ensure its safety."

"Some of the world's biggest energy companies are stockpiling the nuclear fuel used to power reactors as they try to capitalise on rock-bottom uranium prices. An oversupply of nuclear fuel on international commodity markets has followed five successive years of rapid growth in uranium ore production in Kazakhstan, which has nearly quadrupled its output since 2004. Raw uranium prices have tumbled to around $40 per pound - almost one quarter of the levels of $140 in 2007."

"The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that a new class of nuclear weapons workers from plants located in California and New Jersey have been added to the Special Exposure Cohort of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), which provides compensation and medical benefits to workers who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified workers may also be entitled to benefits. All former Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory employees who worked at the Berkeley, Calif., site between Aug. 13, 1942, and Dec. 31, 1961, as well as former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory employees who worked at the Livermore, Calif., site between Jan. 1, 1950, and Dec. 31, 1973, have been added to the Special Exposure Cohort. In addition, former Westinghouse Electric Corp. employees who worked at the Bloomfield, N.J., site between Aug. 13, 1942, and Dec. 31, 1949, are included. "

"Dr. Klein served as chairman of the NRC from July 2006 to May 2009 and as a commissioner until March 2010. Prior to his service on the NRC, he served as the assistant to the secretary of defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs from November 2001 to July 2006 Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO David M. Ratcliffe has announced the election of Dr. Dale E. Klein, 62, to the Southern Company board of directors. A former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Dr. Klein is currently the associate vice president of research and associate director of the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin."

Part 1 presented a new study by power plant cost expert Craig Severance that puts the generation costs for power from new nuclear plants at from 25 to 30 cents per kilowatt-hour - triple current U.S. electricity rates! Those ideologically promiscuous folks at the Heritage Foundation have replied with "New Study on Staggering Cost of Nuclear Energy, Staggeringly Pessimistic." Craig's point by point response follows a few of my comments. Heritage is a leader of the conservative movement stagnation. They have written "the only thing a green 'New Deal' will do is lead us down a Green Road to Serfdom," comparing such a policy to "collectivism in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany," and their Senior Policy Analyst in Energy Economics and Climate Change is quite confused about both of the subjects he analyzes (see "Heritage even opposes energy efficiency").