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On September 24th, U.S. President Barack Obama will preside over a U.N. Security Council session on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. In March 2010, Moscow will host a Global Nuclear Summit that the U.S. has agreed to attend. The next six months could prove hopeful or harmful-depending on the impact on Israel's nuclear arsenal. With U.S. backing, Tel Aviv has thus far avoided compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty-joining North Korea, India and Pakistan.

When Paul Zimmerman writes in his new book about the Rio Puerco and the Four Corners, he calls out the names of the cancers and gives voice to the poisoned places and streams. Zimmerman is not just writing empty words. Zimmerman writes of the national sacrifice area that the mainstream media and the spin doctors would have everyone forget, where the corners of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet, in his new book, A Primer in the Art of Deception: The Cult of Nuclearists, Uranium Weapons and Fraudulent Science. "A report in 1972 by the National Academy of Science suggested that the Four Corners area be designated a 'national sacrifice area," he writes.

All four panelists at Wednesday's forum on nuclear energy agreed the decision to partner in or forgo the expansion of the nuclear South Texas Project will play a large role in shaping San Antonio's economic future. That's where the agreement ended. The San Antonio Clean Technology Forum brought in three national experts to join CPS Energy interim General Manager Steve Bartley. The forum focused on the economics around the utility's plans to partner with NRG Energy to build two more nuclear reactors near Bay City. The utility estimates the project will cost $13 billion and wants to take a 40 percent share. CPS already has spent $276 million on the planning and permitting, and the City Council is expected in October to vote on another $400 million to enable CPS to stay in the project.

Two of five seats are vacant on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the independent federal agency responsible for the safety of the 104 operating U.S. nuclear power reactors, as well as several applications for new reactors in the southeastern U.S., including two in Georgia. President Barack Obama's impending NRC appointments will determine whether the agency cleans up leadership deficiencies that have long undermined public confidence in the NRC and that could jeopardize nuclear safety. The NRC is a very capable technical agency with many dedicated, professional staffers. But the NRC's safety leadership is ultimately determined by the quality of the presidential appointments and the extent of congressional supervision. Safety suffers when that leadership focuses unduly on the economic interests of the nuclear industry and on cheerleading for new nuclear reactors.

Four years ago, state lawmakers allowed power companies to charge you to build their nuclear power plants. But now one state senator says enough is enough - and he's looking to put a stop to it. Progress Energy customers are paying $4 for every 1000 kilowatt hours in what's called a nuclear recovery charge. Senator Mike Fasano thinks it's time for a refund. "Nothing stop us from passing law that says we're going to stop these recapture for the utility companies. And we're going to force the utility companies to refund every dime they've collected thus far."

Entergy Nuclear refused to say Wednesday how Cobalt 60, a radioactive byproduct of the nuclear fission process, ended up in the Connecticut River in 1997, an issue that surfaced earlier this week during a legislative hearing on radiation monitoring at the Vermont Yankee plant. Robert Williams said Entergy was preparing a report on the issue for the Committee on Administrative Rules and said it would decline further comment. Williams said Cobalt 60 had gotten into the storm drains at Vermont Yankee and had ended up in the Connecticut River as a result of a ventilation problem, but he declined to say how the Cobalt 60 got out of the plant itself.

I am writing to announce that a new book, which my father authored, has just been published on the subject of depleted uranium. It's title is "A Primer in the Art of Deception: The Cult of Nuclearists, Uranium Weapons and Fraudulent Science". It is a science book, written for the layperson, detailing how science has been falsified to serve the political interests of covering up the health effects of internal contamination by radionuclides from nuclear weapon testing, commercial nuclear power plants and DU weapons. I forward to you a review of the work as it has been igniting a significant interest in the news world and I feel you may have interest to report on it as well. It is a rude awakening, and I ask you personally if you will help spread awareness of this shocking volume.

Depleted uranium is a fascinating topic of study. Turn over any facet of the subject and what scurries out from underneath into the light of day are lies and subterfuge, distortions of truth and scientific fraud. To attain a panoramic vision of the guile that impregnates the subject of depleted uranium, one needs to recognize that, by its very nature, everything about DU can be nothing other than duplicitous. Disingenuousness is an inherent property of DU, as intrinsic to it as its density or specific activity. This is not because of what DU is or what it does, but because of what it points to.

Nuclear power may be too large and too costly for Saskatchewan, Premier Brad Wall says. He made the comments this week in what appears to be another indication of his government's diminishing enthusiasm for nuclear power. Earlier this week, a report was released on public consultations on the government's Uranium Development Partnership, a bid to explore the future of nuclear energy in the province. The report showed an "overwhelming" rejection of nuclear power from respondents.

LAKES-based campaigners against nuclear energy have hailed an inquest verdict into a soldier's death as 'highly significant'. Last week a coroner's jury in the West Midlands found that depleted uranium caused the fatal colon cancer of Lance Corporal Stuart Dyson, who served in Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. Marianne Birkby, for Radiation Free Lakeland, described it as an 'important verdict' for Cumbria, where new nuclear power plants are proposed. "It calls into doubt the validity of the argument of the International Committee on Radiological Protection that there is a 'safe dose' of radiation.

The proposed Calvert Cliffs 3 reactor in southern Maryland has been considered a leader in the nuclear power industry's hopes for a U.S. renaissance. It is a finalist for a multibillion-dollar Energy Department construction loan guarantee, and for months, the political and financial signals facing it have been green lights. Its developer, Baltimore-based Constellation Energy, would share the deep pockets of its French partner, Électricité de France International (EDF), the largest nuclear power provider in the world. EDF has offered Constellation $4.5 billion for a 49.99 percent share in the Maryland company's nuclear power projects, including the proposed new reactor.

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.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $40 million in funding will be available from the Department of Energy to support design and planning work for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). Next Generation Nuclear Plants will use new, high temperature, gas-cooled reactor technologies to integrate multiple industrial applications in one plant or facility, such as generating electricity while refining petroleum. NGNP will extend the application of nuclear energy into the broader industrial and transportation sectors, reducing fuel use and pollution and improving on the inherent safety of existing commercial light water reactor technology. "Support for new developments in nuclear technologies will be critical to meeting our energy, climate and security goals for years to come," said Secretary Chu. "Next Generation Nuclear Plants hold the promise of safe, cost-effective, zero-emissions energy for major U.S. industries that are some of the largest energy consumers in the country. By integrating multiple industrial processes, this next generation technology will offset imported fossil fuels, reduce pollution and create tens of thousands of quality jobs in industries across America."

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a workshop at the agency headquarters in Rockville, Md., on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 8 and 9, to discuss generic issues regarding potential applications for so-called "small and medium-sized" nuclear reactors. The workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 8, and from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Oct. 9 in the auditorium of the NRC's Two White Flint building at 11545 Rockville Pike in Rockville. The public is invited to participate with NRC staff and industry representatives throughout the workshop. "We're going to examine how these 'small' reactor vendors would need to address the NRC's requirements in areas including safety, security, decommissioning and emergency preparedness," said Michael Mayfield, director of the Advanced Reactor Program in the NRC's Office of New Reactors. "This meeting will help us and our stakeholders determine what issues need more clarification and get everyone's expectations on the same page."

Bumbling nuclear waste disposal technicians opened spent reactor fuel rods and spilt radioactive material on the ground in front of the Delta Bessborough Hotel Thursday afternoon. And people laughed, because this political vaudeville act was a protest against the closed-door Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) hearings. The two-day meetings at the hotel were held as part of the search for a long-term nuclear waste storage facility. The NWMO, a not-for-profit established by Canada's nuclear industry, has identified Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec as possible sites for deep geological storage. Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan held a protest with about 20 people outside the hotel. Some supporters jumped into a media scrum with reporters and posed their own questions to a NWMO spokesperson. "What gives you the hubris, the arrogance to make us think we can solve this problem," said Jim Penna, in reference to the U.S. government's failed $90 billion Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage project.

apanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada says if secret deals between Japan and the United States are revealed, Japan's anti-nuclear principles may change. The Mainichi Daily News said Friday that Okada is concerned about a possible admission by the Japanese government on a reportedly secret agreement to allow nuclear-armed U.S. vessels to visit Japanese ports. Okada said if the government was forced to admit the reported deal with the United States, the ramifications could affect the application of Japan's three non-nuclear principles, which focus on limiting the production and possession of nuclear arms along with preventing such weapons from entering Japanese territory. The Foreign Ministry is conducting an internal investigation into reports of secret agreements between the two countries.

* £50m sale 'good value for taxpayers', says Mandelson * Opposition warns against further decommissioning levies Dounreay nuclear power station. It was shut in 1993 but its safety and decommissioning will now fall into the hands of private firm Babcock. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod The body responsible for decommissioning and cleaning up Britain's fleet of nuclear power stations was sold today in the latest privatisation of part of the UK's nuclear industry. UKAEA, the commercial arm of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, has been bought by Babcock International Group for £50m. Business secretary Lord Mandelson claimed the deal "generates good value for taxpayers", but opposition politicians have previously voiced concerns over the sale.

NOT one hand was raised in favour of an incinerator at last night's public discussion of an alternative to mass burn. The meeting, chaired by Rodney Brouard, saw about 200 people attend to hear what Baltic Development Group had to offer. The company put forward its method of using steam to treat waste, which separates recyclables and turns the rest into a product that can be used as an alternative to plastic.

THE cost of a replacement for Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent could reach £97 billion, environmentalist group Greenpeace has warned. In a new report, Greenpeace suggested the procurement of submarines and missiles could reach about £34bn - around double the £15-£20bn estimate cited by ministers - while running costs could eat up as much as 6 per cent of the Ministry of Defence budget. The report also predicted the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers would cost £5bn to build, compared to the latest official estimate of £3.9bn.

Civic competition is a deep and ancient force. Ever since towns were towns, they have found ways to assert their superiority over one another, through commerce, war and other, more sporting encounters. The thrill of outdoing a neighbour, the fear of losing to the rivals from along the shore, are apparently universal human urges and the world crackles with all kinds of local contests, from the town lantern competitions of the Philippines to America's "Best Tennis Town" and the tidy villages of Ireland.