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Gov. Gary Herbert has agreed to meet with an environmental activist group over concerns that a controversial nuclear waste deal proposed by EnergySolutions is still on the table. HEAL Utah sent a letter to Herbert this month after media outlets began reporting that "talks" had been revived over a proposal by the nuclear waste company to split its revenue with the state if it is allowed to import foreign waste. With Utah facing an estimated revenue shortfall of $700 million, Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, has said it would be prudent to revisit the issue. A legal battle over the facility's ability to accept the waste absent the state's consent is pending before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gov. Gary Herbert has agreed to meet with an environmental activist group over concerns that a controversial nuclear waste deal proposed by EnergySolutions is still on the table. HEAL Utah sent a letter to Herbert this month after media outlets began reporting that "talks" had been revived over a proposal by the nuclear waste company to split its revenue with the state if it is allowed to import foreign waste. With Utah facing an estimated revenue shortfall of $700 million, Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, has said it would be prudent to revisit the issue. A legal battle over the facility's ability to accept the waste absent the state's consent is pending before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Residents living close to uranium mines, especially large mines, are more likely to have kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, and autoimmune disease, according to a University of New Mexico health researcher. Johnnye Lewis, Ph.D., principal investigator for the DiNEH Network for Environmental Health Project and director of the Community Environmental Health Program at the UNM Health Sciences Center, briefed a joint state Indian Affairs/Radiation and Hazardous Materials Committee Thursday at UNM on results of an ongoing study.

Earlier this year, the San Antonio City Council adopted a vision to make the Alamo City one of the greenest cities in America. The "Mission Verde" plan envisioned solar panels on every rooftop, high efficiency homes that helped lower electric bills, and good-paying local jobs created to make all this happen. But CPS Energy has a different vision. While making some encouraging investments in clean energy, the utility's primary energy strategy continues to focus on polluting, unsustainable energy sources. They've just built a new coal-fired power plant, and now they want to invest in two new expensive and dirty nuclear reactors that San Antonio doesn't need. CPS claims that building the new nuclear reactors - at an eye-popping price of $5.2 billion - won't compromise San Antonio's ability to also develop clean sources of energy. But that claim doesn't hold water.

The state of Vermont's radiological health chief says recent changes at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are likely to increase the radiation measured at an elementary school nearby. Still, says William Irwin of the state Health Department, levels of radiation measured at Vernon Elementary School remain below state safety limits and well below federal limits. His remarks came today in Montpelier during a hearing before the Legislature's Administrative Rules Committee, which is reviewing changes to the way the state regulates radiation emissions at Vermont Yankee. The plant has moved its site boundaries by buying up neighboring properties, so the dosimeters used to measure radiation have been moved further from the plant and therefore have an easier time coming in with measurements that meet the state safety standards.

Standing on the end of Bailey Point, looking out on a cold, blue inlet of the Atlantic, you'd never know a nuclear power plant once stood here. The massive concrete containment dome, the spent fuel storage pool, and the six-story-high turbine hall were all torn down earlier this decade, leaving a rain-soaked meadow of grass. The engineers and technicians who tended the 900-megawatt reactor packed up and left town a decade ago, when the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station stopped producing power. All that's left is radioactive waste: the remains of the plant's reactor vessel lining and the 1,435 spent fuel assemblies that passed through it over a quarter century of operations.

A U.S. official says dialogue about a global ban on nuclear blasts is under way in Washington. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty outlawing all nuclear explosions will only enter into force once adopted by the 44 states that participated in a 1996 disarmament conference and possessed nuclear power or research reactors at the time. So far 35 have ratified the document, excluding the United States. The U.S. Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration chief Thomas D'Agostino said Tuesday: "everyone is talking about what it takes" but acknowledged opinions were split. Other holdouts include China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan. On the Net: * http://www.ctbto.org/

Intelligence activities across the U.S. government and military cost a total of $75 billion a year, the nation's top intelligence official said on Tuesday, disclosing an overall number long shrouded in secrecy. Dennis Blair, the U.S. director of national intelligence, cited the figure as part of a four-year strategic blueprint for the sprawling, 200,000-person intelligence community. In an unclassified version of the blueprint released by Blair's office, intelligence agencies singled out as threats Iran's nuclear program, North Korea's "erratic behavior," and insurgencies fueled by militant groups, though Blair cited gains against al Qaeda. Blair also cited challenges from China's military modernization and natural resource-driven diplomacy, as well as from efforts by Russia to reassert its power.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeks public comment on proposed changes to its licensing requirements for the storage of spent nuclear fuel, which would clarify the term limits for specific licenses for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) and for certificates of compliance (CoCs) for spent fuel storage casks. In a proposed rule published today in the Federal Register, the agency proposes formalizing the initial and renewal terms of a specific ISFSI license at a period of up to 40 years, instead of the current duration of up to 20 years. This change would codify a technical approach begun in 2004 with the renewal of the licenses for storage installations at the Surry and H. B. Robinson nuclear power plants. Currently, licensees must request an exemption if they desire a term of more than 20 years. Similarly, the proposed rule would allow CoC applicants to request initial and renewal terms of up to 40 years, provided they can demonstrate that all design requirements are satisfied for the requested term.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold public meetings Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Sweetwater, Tenn., to discuss the agency's review of an Operating License application for a second reactor at the Watts Bar site near Sweetwater, and the environmental issues the agency should consider in reviewing the application. The NRC will meet with the public from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 to 10 p.m. at the Magnuson Hotel, 1421 Murrays Chapel Road in Sweetwater. The NRC will transcribe the meeting, including any follow-up answers the staff provides after the meeting, and post the information on the agency's Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/plant-specific-items/watts-bar/key-correspondence.html . NRC staff will be available for informal discussions with members of the public during "open house" sessions from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. No formal comments on the environmental review will be accepted during these open houses.

The Coalition for a Nuclear Free Alberta launched its province-wide Green Ribbon Campaign at the Grande Prairie Public Library yesterday. The purpose of the campaign is to urge Albertans to reject what the CNFA deems to be a risky and expensive proposal to develop nuclear power in the province. "People are beginning to see that there's more to this nuclear development story than meets the eye," said Norman Dyck, a spokesman for CNFA. "The information is getting out to the alternate media; people mostly want to be responsible in what we leave to our great-great-great-great grandchildren." The coalition does not see nuclear power as a climate change solution. It believes renewable energy options can be brought about faster and more cheaply, with less risk to the health of Albertans and the environment.

The Coalition for a Nuclear Free Alberta launched its province-wide Green Ribbon Campaign at the Grande Prairie Public Library yesterday. The purpose of the campaign is to urge Albertans to reject what the CNFA deems to be a risky and expensive proposal to develop nuclear power in the province. "People are beginning to see that there's more to this nuclear development story than meets the eye," said Norman Dyck, a spokesman for CNFA. "The information is getting out to the alternate media; people mostly want to be responsible in what we leave to our great-great-great-great grandchildren." The coalition does not see nuclear power as a climate change solution. It believes renewable energy options can be brought about faster and more cheaply, with less risk to the health of Albertans and the environment.

A new report has found that most Saskatchewan residents oppose building a nuclear power plant in the province, but that doesn't mean the idea has hit a dead end, according to the government. The 166-page report released Tuesday gathered reaction from public consultations held on the future of uranium development in Saskatchewan. There were more than 1,400 responses specifically on the nuclear power issue and 84 per cent of those opposed the idea. Energy Minister Bill Boyd suggested that's not a sign to stop, but says his "foot is off the accelerator." "When I look at this report, it's neither a green light nor a red light for the future uranium development. It's more like a yellow light - take any next steps with great caution," said Boyd. "There's no question there's strong opposition, I've never said that there wasn't. Of the people that attended the meetings, there was a very strong concern about the future in this area."

A Smith's Landing member is outraged his band will not help him move from contaminated land along the Slave River. John Tourangeau says Chief Fred Daniels and his council broke their promises of financial assistance to help him relocate in Fort Fitzgerald, after they informed him his land was contaminated and told him to move for his son's safety. Now he is asking Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to step in.

With the likelihood that nearly 15,000 barrels of depleted uranium may be headed to Utah, Rep. Jim Matheson on Wednesday asked the Energy Department to suspend disposal of the radioactive material until scientists can further study the effects of its long-term storage. The Energy Department plans to ship about 14,800 barrels of depleted uranium -- which becomes more hazardous over time -- to Utah's EnergySolutions facility in Clive as part of the cleanup of the department's Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The move comes after a split decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that designated large amounts of uranium as Class A low-level waste, which is approved to be buried at EnergySolutions' site.

With the likelihood that nearly 15,000 barrels of depleted uranium may be headed to Utah, Rep. Jim Matheson on Wednesday asked the Energy Department to suspend disposal of the radioactive material until scientists can further study the effects of its long-term storage. The Energy Department plans to ship about 14,800 barrels of depleted uranium -- which becomes more hazardous over time -- to Utah's EnergySolutions facility in Clive as part of the cleanup of the department's Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The move comes after a split decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that designated large amounts of uranium as Class A low-level waste, which is approved to be buried at EnergySolutions' site.

The Hualapai (WAHL'-uh-peye) Tribe has renewed a ban on uranium mining on its land near the Grand Canyon, joining other American Indian tribes in opposing what they see as a threat to their environment and their culture. The tribal bans add to a temporary mining ban on nearly 1 million federally owned acres around the Grand Canyon. The combined actions mean uranium-bearing lands in northern Arizona open to companies hungry to open mines are growing scarce. Much of the uranium in Arizona is in the northwest corner of the state. The high-grade ore used in nuclear energy and for medicine is especially attractive at a time when prices for uranium have risen. But members of northern Arizona tribes say it's not worth putting their health, water and land at risk.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Friends of the Earth environmental organization, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) recently released color photos of 18-wheeler trucks used to transport weapons grade plutonium, uranium and other nuclear materials over local highways to the Savannah River Nuclear Site for disposal. Prior to the DOE release, the only public image of the trucks and their escort vehicles belonged to Tom Clements, the Southeastern Campaign Coordinator of Friends of the Earth, who snapped a photo of the vehicles leaving the Charleston Naval Weapons Station with plutonium shipments bound of SRS and Duke Energy's Catawba reactor in 2005. The trucks in the recently released DOE photos are likely the same type as those used in recent plutonium shipments from the Hanford site in Washington State to the Savannah River Site (SRS). The K-Area Material Storage facility at SRS is slated to house approximately 13 metric tons of "non-pit" (never weaponized) plutonium, Allen Gunter, an SRS-based DOE manager, told City Paper in a Jan., 2008 report.

Vermont's radiological health chief said Tuesday that recent changes at Vermont Yankee nuclear plant were likely to increase the radiation measured at an elementary school nearby. Nonetheless, said William Irwin of the state Health Department, levels of radiation measured at Vernon Elementary School remain below state safety limits and well below federal limits. Irwin's comments came during a hearing before the legislature's Administrative Rules Committee, which is reviewing changes to the way the state regulates radiation emissions at Vermont Yankee.

When Hermogenes Marrero was in Marine boot camp, he recalls being the only recruit who didn't panic during simulated-chemical-warfare drills. "I'd sit there calmly with my gas mask on," Marrero says, "while a lot of other guys got scared and ran away." It was 1969, and Marrero, a New Yorker born in Puerto Rico, was fresh out of high school at the age of 17. But his composure caught the eyes of Marine instructors - and the next year, he says, he was at Camp Garcia on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, helping guard for 18 months chemical agents being tested by the U.S. Navy.

The Moruroa e Tatou nuclear test veterans association in French Polynesia has expressed surprise that a fresh compensation ruling is being appealed by the French state. This follows an undertaking by the French defence minister, Herve Morin, that in such matters the state would no longer go ahead with a challenge but accept court rulings. According to Tahitipresse, the head of Moruroa e Tatou says he wonders if the minister had lied or just used deceptive language. As the French compensation bill is to go to the French senate, the association has questioned the significantly lower compensation being considered for victims in French Polynesia over that offered in France.

AREVA (Paris:CEI) has signed today a contract* to supply 40 MOX fuel assemblies for unit 2 of the Shimanenuclear power plant, owned and operated by Japanese utility Chugoku EPCo. Under the terms of the contract, the fuel will be fabricated at AREVA`s MELOX plant in southern France, using plutonium recovered from the treatment operations performed at AREVA`s La Hague plant, thereby recycling it to be used in Japan as MOX fuel.

The Philippines may choose to dispose of nuclear waste at the Spratlys Islands should the government proceed with a plan to use nuclear energy. Using the islands as a disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel may even end the dispute over its ownership, said Pangasinan Representative Mark Cojuangco, who authored a House Bill that intends to rehabilitate the country's only nuclear plant in Bataan. Besides the Philippines, a host of other countries including China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam are claiming dominion over the islands. The disputed territory "can actually be a mechanism for regional peace because [other countries claiming the Spratlys] are looking for repositories of nuclear waste," Cojuangco said in a briefing.