World leaders attending the G-8 summit on Sea Island, Ga., stretched their legs today for a beach photo opportunity. Today was the last day of the meeting between the world economic powers (AFP Photo/Tim Sloan). G-8 Approves Nonproliferation Plan; Calls for End to Iranian, North Korean Nuclear Programs By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire SAVANNAH, Ga. — Leaders of the Group of Eight economic powers yesterday approved a nonproliferation action plan that calls on Iran and North Korea to end their suspected nuclear weapons efforts (see GSN, June 9)...Full Story

IAEA Seeks Better Global Emergency System By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The International Atomic Energy Agency is stressing help to countries in need as the key to better readiness for accidents and attacks involving nuclear material, according to a plan submitted to the agency’s governing board...Full Story

House Subcommittee Bombs “Bunker Buster” Funding A House Appropriations subcommittee yesterday rejected the Bush administration’s request for $27.6 million to research nuclear “bunker buster” warheads, USA Today reported (see GSN, May 19)...Full Story

	Thursday, June 10, 2004

G-8 Approves Nonproliferation Plan; Calls for End to Iranian, North Korean Nuclear Programs By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire SAVANNAH, Ga. — Leaders of the Group of Eight economic powers yesterday approved a nonproliferation action plan that calls on Iran and North Korea to end their suspected nuclear weapons efforts (see GSN, June 9). The leaders of the G-8, which consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, are meeting for the organization’s annual summit this week at Sea Island, Ga., off the coast of Savannah. Their nonproliferation plan notes the progress Iran has made in cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s efforts to investigate Tehran’s nuclear program. They expressed concern, though, that Iran was not fully abiding by its pledge to freeze uranium enrichment activities and criticized Tehran’s lack of full cooperation with the agency. In addition, the action plan calls on Iran to “promptly and fully” comply with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations, including the ratification and implementation of the Additional Protocol to its IAEA safeguards agreement, which allows the agency to conduct more intrusive monitoring of a country’s nuclear efforts. The issue of Iran’s nuclear program was also a topic of discussion during a bilateral meeting Tuesday between U.S. President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Germany, along with France and the United Kingdom, reached a deal last year with Iran, under which Tehran agreed to suspend its uranium enrichment activities in return for the possible exchange of civilian nuclear technology. During his meeting Tuesday with Bush, however, Schroeder expressed “skepticism” about Iran’s nuclear intention, a U.S. senior administration official said. “I think it’s fair to characterize the chancellor’s view as being somewhat skeptical in a general way,” the senior administration official said Tuesday. In an interview with Global Security Newswire on the sidelines of the summit, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said yesterday that over the past two years Russia moved from denying Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons intentions to acknowledging that Tehran may harbor such plans. Russia is constructing a nuclear power reactor for Iran at the city of Bushehr — a project the United States has criticized over possible proliferation concerns (see GSN, June 9). As for the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, the G-8 action plan calls on North Korea to end its suspected nuclear weapons efforts “in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.” The G-8 leaders also expressed support for using the six-party talks, which involve China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States, as a means for resolving the crisis (see GSN, June 9). The language in this year’s G-8 action plan regarding Iran and North Korea strongly echoes the wording used in last year’s G-8 action plan, approved during a summit in France. In its 2003 nonproliferation action plan, the G-8 leaders also called for Pyongyang to “visibly, verifiably and irreversibly” end its nuclear efforts, and called on Iran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. While this year’s G-8 summit seemingly focused less on nonproliferation than the 2003 session, the action plan released yesterday also addresses a number of broader WMD proliferation issues. Following a proposal made by Bush earlier this year, the G-8 leaders agreed to a one-year freeze on new exports of uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing capabilities to countries that do not already possess them, and also called on other non-G-8 members to follow suit. The freeze is intended to temporarily address a perceived loophole in the nuclear nonproliferation regime that allows countries to develop nuclear weapons programs under the guise of seeking civilian nuclear programs. In addition, the G-8 leaders agreed to work by the end of next year to establish the Additional Protocol as an “essential new standard” in nuclear supply agreements, to establish a special committee in the IAEA Board of Governors responsible for strengthened safeguards and verification and that countries facing IAEA investigation should not be allowed to participate in the agency’s board or the new committee regarding their own investigations. The action plan also endorses the expansion of the Proliferation Security Initiative — a U.S.-led effort launched last year to interdict WMD-related cargo shipments — to also target proliferation financiers and middlemen, as well as illicit manufacturing plants that produce WMD-related materials. According to the plan, several G-8 members have begun developing measures to deny access to ports and airports to suspect companies and to impose visa bans on individuals involved in illicit WMD-related trade. The G-8 leaders further vowed in the action plan to “recommit” themselves to pledging the full $20 billion under the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, an effort launched in 2002 to help fund nonproliferation projects, primarily in Russia. The current level of pledged funding stands at about $17 billion. In addition, the action plan announces the addition of seven new donor countries to the effort. Besides nuclear weapons, the action plan addresses the threat of biological terrorism. The G-8 leaders agreed to implement several measures to help improve biological defenses, including new surveillance capabilities, improved protection and response capabilities, improved protection of the global food supply and strengthened efforts to investigate possible biological weapons attacks and suspicious outbreaks of disease.  In addition, the action plans calls on all countries to join the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation. It also expresses the G-8’s support for U.N. Resolution 1540, which calls on countries to criminalize WMD proliferation and to establish effective national export control systems. Back to top       20 Iraqi Missile Engines Found in Jordan; U.N. Says Looted Weapons, Equipment Shipped Abroad Twenty banned Iraqi missile engines and other equipment that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction were found in a Jordanian scrap yard, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, June 8). Acting Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Demetrius Perricos reported the discovery to the Security Council during a closed-door briefing.  The findings raise questions as to the whereabouts of Iraqi equipment that could be used to produce biological and chemical weapons and banned long-range missiles. Perricos told the Security Council that U.N. inspectors do not know how much monitored military equipment has been removed from Iraq. Up to 1,000 tons of scrap metal is taken out of Iraq each day, he told reporters after the meeting (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 9). During his presentation, Perricos also showed satellite photos of a missile site near Baghdad that had been stripped since May 2003, the New York Times reported. A spokesman for Perricos later said fermenters, a freeze drier, distillation columns, missile parts and a reactor vessel were removed from the site. The items could be used for developing chemical or biological weapons, the Times reported. “It raises the question of what happened to the dual-use equipment, where is it now and what is it being used for,” said spokesman Ewen Buchanan. He said a fermenter was a good example of a dual-use item. “You can make all kinds of pharmaceutical and medicinal products with a fermenter,” he said. “You can also use it to breed anthrax,” he added (Warren Hoge, New York Times, June 10). Back to top

House Subcommittee Bombs “Bunker Buster” Funding A House Appropriations subcommittee yesterday rejected the Bush administration’s request for $27.6 million to research nuclear “bunker buster” warheads, USA Today reported (see GSN, May 19). The administration can still seek to restore the funding in the full House and the Senate, which is scheduled to vote on a similar cut Tuesday. The panel also cut $9 million for nuclear weapons design research and $30 million for shortening the time needed to prepare a nuclear test (Diamond/Squitieri, USA Today/Yahoo!News, June 10). Subcommittee Chairman David Hobson (R-Ohio) said the National Nuclear Security Administration should complete a review of current systems prior to embarking on new initiatives, the Associated Press reported. “We put the brakes on a number of new nuclear weapons initiatives,” Hobson said. “The NNSA needs to take a timeout on new initiatives until it completes a review of its weapons complex in relation to security needs, budget constraints and a (recently completed) new stockpile plan,” he added (H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press/Fox News, June 9). Back to top       Libya Assassination Plot Launches U.S. Probe; IAEA Says Turkey, South Africa Aided Nuclear Program Reports that Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi’s intelligence chiefs last year ordered the assassination of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah could severely damage the African nation’s efforts to re-enter the world community following the voluntary dismantlement of its WMD activities, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, June 4). Abdurahman Alamoudi, an American Muslim leader now jailed in Alexandria, Va., and Col. Mohamed Ismael, a Libyan intelligence officer in Saudi custody, gave separate statements detailing the covert effort. Alamoudi told U.S. authorities that Qadhafi approved the assassination plan. He said that in June 2003, Qadhafi told him, “I want the crown prince killed either through assassination or through a coup.” In August, Qadhafi followed up on the order by asking why he had not yet seen “heads flying” in the Saudi royal family, according to Alamoudi. The leader’s son said the accusation was “nonsense.” “I don’t know what [Ismael] is saying in custody, but I can guarantee that nobody asked him to create cells and assassinate people,” said Seif al-Islam el-Qadhafi. The statements by the two men have launched a U.S. investigation into the alleged plot. Officials said the accusations were one reason Libya has not been removed from the State Department’s list of states supporting terrorism, despite Qadhafi’s public renouncement of such activities as well as his abandonment of WMD development. “We are fully aware of Libya's significant past involvement with terrorism,” a senior U.S. official said yesterday. “Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi has pledged to end Libya’s ties with terrorism and cooperate with the United States and our allies in the war on terrorism. We continue to monitor closely Libya’s adherence to this pledge,” the official added. The enmity between Qadhafi and the Saudi royal family is long-standing, according to the Times. Qadhafi and Abdullah clashed at the Arab summit meeting before the Iraq war last year. During a public exchange of insults, Abdullah glared at Qadhafi and said, “Your lies precede you and your grave is in front of you.” If U.S., British and Saudi investigations conclude the Libyan plot existed, it would undermine Qadhafi’s pledge that he has abandoned terrorism, and international sanctions could be reinstated, according to the Times. A senior U.S. official said a “180-degree” shift in American policy on Libya could result if conclusive evidence of the plot were to emerge (Patrick Tyler, New York Times, June 9). Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency said suppliers from Turkey and South Africa were a crucial part of the network that provided Libya’s now-defunct nuclear weapons program with technology and expertise, the Financial Times reported. The agency investigation into the nuclear black market led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan has included interviews with Libyan, Iranian and Pakistani scientists and officials. An intelligence officer close to the investigation of the Libyan program said yesterday that a container of Turkish-manufactured uranium enrichment components slipped through security when the ship carrying it was seized under the Proliferation Security Initiative. It was allowed to reach Tripoli in March because of the difficulties of searching the entire ship, according to the Times. “There were some containers on the [ship] about which the U.S. and the U.K. were certain. These were the ones that were taken off the ship. But there was one other — which was the one that got to Tripoli — about which we weren’t certain,” he said. The IAEA report also said Libyan engineers studied a set of equipment for 10,000 centrifuges “during a training visit to another African country.” Diplomats say that country was South Africa, according to the Times. The revelations indicate that the Khan network assembled sensitive components in countries with weak export-control regimes, thereby sidestepping tougher laws in other countries, according to Institute of Science and International Security President David Albright. He added that these components were assembled from less sensitive parts exported from European countries, indicating a need for European countries to tighten further their export-control regimes (Fidler/Huband, Financial Times, June 10). Back to top       U.S. Finds China Doubts on North Korea “Puzzling” The United States yesterday characterized as “puzzling” remarks by a Chinese official that he doubted U.S. claims that North Korea had a highly enriched uranium program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 9). “We saw the story and, frankly, we find [Deputy Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong’s] comments somewhat puzzling,” said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. “We have made clear over time that there is very conclusive information that North Korea has a covert uranium enrichment program,” he added. Boucher cited details offered by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan of his sales of nuclear technology to North Korea (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 10). Meanwhile, China said today it hopes the next round of six-nation talks on the issue could be held before July, the Associated Press reported. “We hope the relevant parties can take a constructive attitude to narrow the differences and build consensus so we can continue the discussion,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. Dates for the negotiations have not been formally set, he said. South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that talks would likely commence in Beijing on June 23, but also added that exact dates have not been agreed upon (Associated Press, June 10). Back to top       UC Livermore Contract Extended by Two Years The University of California will continue to operate the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory until at least September 2007, the U.S. Energy Department announced yesterday in extending the school’s contract by two years (see GSN, May 7). The university’s contracts to run both the Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear weapons research facilities were scheduled to end in September 2005. The announcement means the school will be able to compete separately for the contracts, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. “It is very important to ensure we have the broadest possible competition for future contracts. Separating these two competitions will achieve that result,” Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said in a press release. The University of California has operated both laboratories for 50 years. It was forced to compete for the contracts following multiple inquiries of mismanagement in recent years, according to the Chronicle. Livermore officials “are pleased with the decision. They support the decision,” said spokeswoman Lynda Seaver. The Los Alamos National Laboratory contract is still scheduled to end in September 2005. University regents have not yet decided whether to compete for the contracts (Keay Davidson, San Francisco Chronicle, June 10). Back to top

Progress Made on New Biological Defenses, Fauci Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire SAVANNAH, Ga. — The United States has made progress in developing several new treatments and vaccines against a variety of biological weapons agents, with some set to be introduced into U.S. defenses by the end of 2005, the head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Global Security Newswire yesterday. Institute Director Anthony Fauci described the progress in developing new biological defenses during an interview with GSN on the sidelines of this year’s summit of the Group of Eight global economic powers, being held at Sea Island, Ga. The G-8 nations —Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — yesterday approved a nonproliferation action plan that calls for several measures against bioterrorism, including new surveillance capabilities, improved protection and response capabilities and strengthened efforts to protect the global food supply (see related GSN story, today).  A new smallpox vaccine that poses less risk from side effects than the current inoculation has entered Phase 1 safety trials after having been found to provide protection in monkeys and mice, Fauci said (see GSN, April 28). The new vaccine, which is being jointly developed by the National Institutes of Health and several pharmaceutical companies, could be introduced into the national pharmaceutical stockpile by the end of next year. Progress has also been made in developing a more advanced vaccine against anthrax, Fauci said. He said that a contract is likely to be awarded by the end of the summer to produce 75 million doses of the new vaccine, enough to vaccinate 25 million people since it requires only three doses instead of the current vaccine, which requires six inoculations (see GSN, June 8). Fauci refused to say, however, what companies are being considered for the anthrax vaccine contract. In addition, a new Ebola vaccine is set to undergo Phase 1 safety trials, Fauci said (see GSN, Dec. 12, 2003). He also said the Bush administration is seeking to develop at least two treatments against every Level A pathogen as classified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Such agents include smallpox, anthrax, botulism toxin, tularemia and hemorrhagic viruses. While some researchers have complained that the Bush administration’s massive funding of biological defenses has hurt other scientific efforts, such as HIV/AIDS and cancer research, Fauci yesterday defended the outlay, which he said was the largest ever spent on a single research issue by the National Institutes of Health. In addition to providing new treatments and vaccines against biological weapons, the Bush administration’s biological research efforts have also provided valuable information on other types of infectious diseases, Fauci said. For example, basic microbial and host response research conducted as part of biological defense efforts have also aided research into new treatments against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, he said. Such additional benefits, however, receive less media attention and are less appreciated, Fauci added. Back to top       Companies Still Wary of Funding Vaccines The Bush administration’s Project Bioshield has not erased drug industry concerns on the pitfalls of funding expensive preparation of vaccines against a possible bioterror attack, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, June 9). Bioshield is designed to guarantee a government market for vaccines that drug makers otherwise would see as unprofitable and be reluctant to produce. President George W. Bush is awaiting the $5.6 billion funding bill to pay for vaccines. However, it remains to be seen if the effort would “have the positive impact we’d like to see,” said Ernest Takafuji, assistant director for biodefense research at the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases. “Companies continue to struggle with this,” he said during a conference yesterday in Baltimore on vaccine development. Companies’ concerns include issues of liability, manufacturing and allocation of funding, AP said. For example, industry representatives wonder whether the U.S. government would always buy a successful vaccine as contracts are going to more than one company, said VaxGen president Lance Gordon. There is also a question of how much standby capability a company would need to make additional treatments if the vaccine stockpile proved inadequate. Gordon still argued for having the private sector lead vaccine development, saying that governments’ efforts had ended unsuccessfully (Alex Dominguez, Associated Press, June 9). Back to top       Researchers Warn Biotechnology Could Be Weaponized Biotechnology research aimed at treating and preventing disease could be manipulated for use as terror weapons, a European think tank warned in a report released yesterday (see GSN, June 9). In its annual yearbook, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said technical advancements, such as the mapping of the human genome, could be misused. Such work could be diverted to develop biological weapons with the capability of targeting a specific ethnic group or population, the Associated Press reported. “The free access to genetic sequence data for the human genome and a large number of other genomes, including for pathogenic microorganisms, is a great scientific resource, but it could pose a significant threat if misused,” the report states (Matt Moore, Associated Press/CNews.com, June 10). Back to top

Chemical Attack Reportedly Planned on United States Transcripts of Italian telephone wiretaps on two suspected terrorists indicate a woman was preparing a chemical attack on the United States, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, June 8). Italian authorities used the wiretaps in their investigation of two men arrested Tuesday in Milan during a European sweep of suspected Islamic militants. One of the suspects, Rabie Osman Ahmed, is suspected of planning the March 11 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people. In one phone conversation detailed on the transcript, Osman Ahmed mentions a woman preparing an attack in the United States using a chemical agent, AP reported. There was also discussion of “small groups ready to carry out suicide attacks,” mostly in Iraq, said Italian prosecutor Maurizio Romanelli. He said he submitted copies of the transcripts to U.S. authorities (Aidan Lewis, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 9). Back to top

North Korea Tests Long-Range Missile Engine North Korea tested an engine for a long-range ballistic missile early last month, a South Korean newspaper has reported (see GSN, June 9). Testing of the engine that would power the multistage Taepodong 2 missile with a range of up to 6,000 kilometers occurred at the Musudan missile complex in North Hamgyong province, the South Korean JoongAng newspaper reported, citing diplomatic sources. Engine testing is often the final step before an actual missile flight test. “U.S. intelligence agencies think that the size of the combustion trace and the amount of liquid fuel used, hint that the test is part of an experiment to develop the Taepodong 2 missile,” JoongAng quoted a diplomatic source as saying. South Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said the reported test could be a negotiating tactic by North Korea in advance of the next session of multilateral negotiations on its nuclear weapons programs. “North Korea has a record of making such gestures,” he said. Jeong added that he was unable to confirm that the test had occurred. However, he said North Korea has long sought development of long-range missiles. “This may not be entirely for negotiations. There may be other purposes,” he said. North Korea test-launched a Taepodong-1 missile with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers over Japan in August 1998 (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 10). Back to top

IAEA Seeks Better Global Emergency System By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The International Atomic Energy Agency is stressing help to countries in need as the key to better readiness for accidents and attacks involving nuclear material, according to a plan submitted to the agency’s governing board. The effort may involve requests for special contributions from members of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, according to the plan, which Global Security Newswire obtained in advance of next week’s IAEA Board of Governors meeting. During the weeklong meeting, the agency’s secretariat will ask the board to approve the document, called the Draft International Action Plan for Strengthening the International Preparedness and Response System for Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies. Prepared by the secretariat and country representatives, the plan is intended to bolster preparedness for “emergency situations or events resulting from accidents, negligence or malicious acts,” according to the text. “The current international system is not broken, but it can be improved and enhanced based on knowledge and lessons learned and identified to ensure that an effective response can be provided to any nuclear incident,” said an official with the U.S. Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, which helped develop the action plan. In an e-mail to Global Security Newswire, the official called the plan a “systematic, measurable approach to improving the system for the benefit of all nations.” The document indicates that, after determining what personnel and other resources are needed to implement the plan, the U.N. agency intends to “optimize the use of its existing resources” and, potentially, to seek additional contributions from its member countries. The plan focuses most heavily on outside assistance to countries as needed, including practical and technical help, advice and assessments. Seven of the plan’s 17 proposals for action, including three of four “high-priority” recommendations, appear in a section on assistance. “The proper handling of a nuclear or radiological emergency, and also a situation in which a prompt response is warranted in order to mitigate the effects of a perceived hazard, can easily require resources that exceed the capabilities of individual states. It is therefore important for states to cooperate in response to such emergencies and situations,” the document reads. The agency calls for better emergency-response compatibility among countries and among international organizations. In particular, the document highlights current differences among various countries’ response teams, technical products, equipment and training, “resulting in significant challenges in providing effective assistance to one another.” Among actions proposed to improve assistance, the document assigns high-priority status to an initial review of response and preparedness around the world, the development of compatible arrangements for medical response to emergencies, and the development of arrangements for responding to loss, theft, damage and discovery of dangerous radiological sources. The plan would also promote radiation-monitoring assistance, updated meteorological tools and a review of environmental models. “A system is in place; the action plan will improve and enhance the system,” said the U.S. official. The official said countries can already obtain help in the event of an emergency through IAEA invocation of the Convention for Assistance in the event of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, as well as under bilateral and multilateral agreements. “Implementation of the action plan,” the official said, “will ensure that there is a compatible, harmonized worldwide system for assistance and response, rather than individual country systems. Thus, outside help will help many countries put a system in place to ensure that if there is a nuclear incident, that an effective and efficient response can be provided from within the country with the problem and, if they need response assistance from another country, they know what is available and how to go about requesting such assistance to minimize the impact on workers, the public and the environment.” Besides assistance, the document also covers communication and “sustainable infrastructure.” The agency calls in the draft for a “harmonized communication system for nuclear and radiological emergencies,” assigning high-priority status to the development of a strategy to reach that goal. Also recommended are improvements in emergency notification, information-sharing compatibility and public communication, as well as better communication between the IAEA Emergency Response Center and member countries. The draft indicates current documents governing the international emergency system contain “no built-in sustainable mechanisms for ensuring effectiveness and continuous improvement of practical arrangements.” It calls for creating a “sustainable, effective and efficient infrastructure for enhancement of the international preparedness and response system,” mainly by wider sharing of lessons learned in real-life incidents and in drills. Recent developments, including heightened concern about insufficiently secured nuclear material and new fears of spectacular terrorist attacks, have fueled the plan’s development, the agency says in the text. “Since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, major political and technological developments (such as improvements in international cooperation and advances in information technology) have provided opportunities for improving the international emergency preparedness and response system,” the plan reads. “It is also recognized,” the document goes on, “that there is a large number of radioactive sources in use or in transport for which the international emergency preparedness and response system is less developed than for nuclear installations. Particularly since Sept. 11, 2001, there is also significant concern about the possible malicious use of radioactive material and about possible attacks on nuclear installations. All these factors highlight the need for improving and extending the system.” Back to top       Dirty Bomb Posed No Radiation Danger: Scientists An alleged plan by suspected terrorist Jose Padilla to detonate a uranium-laced “dirty bomb” in the United States could not have caused the radioactive harm claimed by U.S. authorities, scientists said recently (see GSN, June 2). Justice Department officials on June 1 said that the U.S.-born terrorism suspect hoped to spread radiation by detonating “uranium wrapped with explosives,” the Associated Press reported. However, uranium has low radioactivity, experts said. Materials such as cesium and cobalt isotopes are believed to be stronger candidates for dirty bombs. “There is just no significant radiation hazard,” said Peter Zimmerman, a U.S. physicist at King’s College in London. “I used a 20-pound brick of uranium as a doorstop in my office,” he said, to illustrate uranium’s potential for danger. “It’s the equivalent of blowing up lead,” said Ivan Oelrich, a Federation of American Scientists physicist. A Justice Department spokesman would not say whether the agency consulted with scientists before making the announcement, AP reported. Padilla, a suspected al-Qaeda operative, has been held without charges for two years as an enemy combatant (Associated Press/Kansas City Star, June 10). Back to top       Funding Slashed for Yucca Mountain Repository A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee yesterday designated only $131 million of the $880 million requested for development in fiscal 2005 of the Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository in Nevada (see GSN, May 14). The funding cut could delay the facility’s planned opening in 2010, the Associated Press reported. “I think we have an obligation to get (the facility) opened and funded,” said Representative David Hobson (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. “But I don’t have the tools right now to get that done,” he added. The Energy Department sought the funding to begin obtaining permits and preparing designs for the facility, and to develop transportation plans for the 77,000 tons of nuclear power and defense waste to be stored there, AP reported. The Bush administration linked the remaining Yucca money to separate legislation on congressional use of a nuclear waste fund. That bill is not expected to pass this year, and Hobson said he could not find the money elsewhere (H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 9).     Back to top

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