Representative Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.), shown last year, has criticized a recent nuclear weapons policy assessment released by the Bush administration. Lawmakers Criticize “Empty Rhetoric” on Nuclear Policy By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Leaders of the House subcommittee that sets funding for the U.S. nuclear weapons complex yesterday criticized the Bush administration’s recently issued nuclear weapons policy statement (see GSN, July 25)...Full Story

U.S. Begins Building Plutonium Conversion Plant Construction began yesterday on a South Carolina facility designed to convert weapon-grade plutonium into civilian nuclear reactor fuel, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced (see GSN, July 20)...Full Story

North Korea Demands Removal From U.S. Terror List North Korea must be removed from a U.S. list of terrorist-sponsoring states before a denuclearization agreement can go forward, the North Korean foreign minister said yesterday (see GSN, July 31)...Full Story

	Thursday, August 2, 2007

U.S. Awards Contract for Protective Boots A U.S. company has won a $2.45 million contract to provide overboots for protecting U.S. special operations forces soldiers from exposure to chemical and biological agents, United Press International reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 8, 2006). The Bates Footwear gear would safeguard the feet of soldiers against chemical and biological weapons agents released as a liquid or in vapor or aerosol form.  The overboots could be used in combination with all other chemical and biological defensive gear employed by the U.S. military. Bates Footwear developed the boots with W.L. Gore and Associates, taking into account safety, comfort and tactical issues facing the U.S. military.  The company expects to supply as many as 20,000 pairs of the overboots over the coming year, UPI reported. "We are proud to have the opportunity to offer our soldiers a boot that provides them the utmost protection as they conduct their missions in extreme conditions. This boot sets a new benchmark in utilizing technology to meet the CB protection and tactical needs of our armed services," said Ron Woznick, vice president and general manager of Bates Footwear (United Press International, Aug. 1). Back to top

Lawmakers Criticize  “Empty Rhetoric” on Nuclear Policy By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Leaders of the House subcommittee that sets funding for the U.S. nuclear weapons complex yesterday criticized the Bush administration’s recently issued nuclear weapons policy statement (see GSN, July 25). The secretaries of defense, energy and state on July 24 submitted the joint statement to Congress stating that nuclear weapons would be required for the “foreseeable future” and that a new warhead design is critical to long-term confidence in the U.S. nuclear deterrent. Subcommittee Chairman Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.) and Representative David Hobson (R-Ohio) wrote in a letter to the administration that the document “failed to address any of the key issues” raised during the budget process for fiscal 2008 programs. “It is time for the administration to move past empty rhetoric and enter into a constructive dialog with Congress on this vital issue,” they wrote. The Bush administration seeking more than $52 billion for strategic programs next year, including nuclear weapons, missile defense and space programs.  That includes nearly $90 million for a program to develop a next-generation nuclear warhead.  The Reliable Replacement Warhead would be easier and faster to produce as well as simpler to maintain, according to the White House.  It is also intended to contain increased security measures, rendering it useless if stolen by terrorists.  Members of the House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee have been among the most vocal critics of the RRW program, saying the administration first needs to define the U.S. nuclear defense strategy as well as how many weapons are needed in a national stockpile. Visclosky’s subcommittee cut all funding for the new warhead, noting that such a program could have “serious international and domestic consequences.” “Instead of a serious attempt to meet the planning requirements for the future nuclear weapons stockpile and nuclear weapons production complex, the [July 24] document was a reiteration of the administration’s budget justification for the Reliable Replacement Warhead and Complex 2030 initiative,” wrote Visclosky and Hobson. Complex 2030 is the Energy Department’s plan to reconfigure and reinvigorate the aging nuclear weapons production and maintenance complex by the year 2030 (see GSN, May 3). The representatives noted that their concerns about nuclear policy and stockpile size are not new and have been part of their bipartisan position for years. “Despite the dramatic international shifts since the end of the Cold War, including the breakup of the Soviet Union and emergent proliferation concerns with rogue states, the United States has yet to develop a modern nuclear weapons policy that addresses the changed global circumstances,” they wrote. Visclosky and Hobson attacked an administration assertion in the document that “delays on RRW also raise the prospect of having to return to underground nuclear testing to certify existing weapons.” Such a statement is “irresponsible” and “incautious,” they wrote.  “There is no record of congressional testimony or reports … claiming that the safety, security or reliability of the existing legacy stockpile is on a performance cliff such that a resumption of testing to verify performance of the warheads would be a necessity.” The administration report indicated that a more in-depth, detailed report would outline methodology used to determine nuclear weapons force structure as well as “dispel a number of myths” about the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Back to top       U.S. Begins Building Plutonium Conversion Plant Construction began yesterday on a South Carolina facility designed to convert weapon-grade plutonium into civilian nuclear reactor fuel, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced (see GSN, July 20). The Savannah River Site facility is intended to convert at least 34 metric tons of plutonium into mixed-oxide (MOX) nuclear reactor fuel to be used in North and South Carolina nuclear power plants.  That is enough material for 8,500 nuclear weapons, the agency said. The United States is building the facility to fulfill a 2000 nonproliferation pact with Russia under which the nations promised to each covert 34 metric tons of plutonium. Construction of the MOX plant “marks a major top forward in our efforts with Russia to dispose of surplus weapon-grade plutonium so that it can never be used again for nuclear weapons,” William Tobey, the agency’s nonproliferation chief, said in a release (National Nuclear Security Administration release, Aug. 1). One nonproliferation think tank called on the Energy Department to hold off on building the facility unless officials agree to place the site under international monitoring. Withholding the plans from the International Atomic Energy Agency undermines U.S. credibility on nonproliferation issues, said Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists in a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. The United States must “set the gold standard for safeguards and security” and an international review of the facility plans would be a “powerful symbol” of nuclear transparency and equity, Lyman said (Union of Concerned Scientists release, Aug. 1).  Back to top       North Korea Demands Removal From U.S. Terror List North Korea must be removed from a U.S. list of terrorist-sponsoring states before a denuclearization agreement can go forward, the North Korean foreign minister said yesterday (see GSN, July 31). Pyongyang last month shut down its reactor at Yongbyon and allowed international inspectors into the facility, so the United States should remove North Korea from the Trading With the Enemy Act, Pak Ui Chun told a Southeast Asian security forum in Manila.  “All should be done based on action-to-action,” Pak said, according to Reuters.  “Therefore, five other countries, particularly the United States and Japan, must take action.” European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the six nations involved in shuttering North Korea’s nuclear program could meet again in September.  He warned of slow progress. “The way ahead in front of us is long and probably distant,” Solana said in Manila (Teruaki Ueno, Reuters/Washington Post, Aug. 2). Meanwhile, U.S. and North Korean officials met yesterday on the sidelines of the Southeast Asian regional forum and repeated their denuclearization commitments, the Associated Press reported. “The two sides shared the understanding to make joint efforts to move forward the six-party talks by implementing their obligations,” said North Korean diplomat Jong Song Il. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and chief U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill separately met with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak, AP reported. “My comments were that we need to work hard to get this done and he agreed,” Hill said of his meeting.  “I think things are falling into place, we have a lot of things to get done.” Representatives from the six involved nations — China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas — are expected to meet in working groups during August to discuss different issues related to the denuclearization agreement (Associated Press/The Hindu, Aug. 2). In that vein, Hill said the United States would like to hold August talks to discuss normalizing diplomatic relations with North Korea, according to the Yonhap News Agency. Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan last discussed normalizing ties in March (see GSN, March 6).  Fresh discussions about the state of U.S.-North Korea relations are expected to follow this month’s planned working group meetings. China has offered to host the group discussing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula starting Aug. 10, but Hill said he would prefer to begin Aug. 13.  Russia wants to convene its working group on a Northeast Asian security pact the second week of August, but Hill said he would prefer Aug. 24 (Byon Duk-kun, Yonhap News Agency, Aug. 2). Back to top       IAEA, Iran Plan Nuclear Transparency Talks U.N. nuclear watchdog officials plan to visit Iran Monday for a second round of talks on addressing concerns over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, July 30). The talks are expected to focus on boosting International Atomic Energy Agency efforts to monitor Iran’s underground Natanz uranium enrichment plant as the site progresses toward “industrial scale” production. “The IAEA team will arrive for further talks on Monday and they will stay for up to six days,” an Iranian official said.  “We will continue to discuss the modalities on how to resolve the outstanding issues with the agency.” Agency inspectors who visited the unfinished Arak heavy-water reactor this week received full cooperation from Iranian officials and were given full access to the site, said an IAEA official. Inspectors to date have been allowed to watch what materials have been taken in and out of the Natanz plant, but they have not been allowed to freely examine or photograph the site’s centrifuge enrichment machines, diplomats said. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei has said that Iran’s goal to create an “action plan” to clarify its nuclear intentions before the end of August has raised hope of cooling tension that Tehran’s nuclear program (Reuters, Aug. 1). Meanwhile, foreign ministers attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum in Manila plan to express “deep concern” about a May report from ElBaradei that Iran had not halted its uranium enrichment, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported. “The ministers stressed the urgent need for a diplomatic solution and a comprehensive arrangement with Iran, while respecting Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy under safeguards and in accordance with its obligations under the [Nuclear] Nonproliferation Treaty,” the draft statement said (Deutsche Presse-Agentur/Earth Times, Aug. 1). Back to top       U.S., India to Continue Pushing Nuclear Deal U.S. and Indian officials pledged yesterday to continue pressing forward with the two countries’ nuclear trade deal, the Press Trust of India reported (see GSN, July 31). Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee met for 35 minutes with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte during a forum in Manila.  Their meeting was the first high-level contact between the United States and India since they finished negotiations on the deal last month. “Both sides agreed that the momentum established by the (draft) agreement should be kept up to enable to achieve the objectives,” official sources said after the meeting. The sides discussed India’s pending negotiations with the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which sets international nuclear trade guidelines, and with the International Atomic Energy Agency for inspections its civilian nuclear plants, official sources said following the meeting.  India must receive the approval of both organizations before the deal can be finalized (Press Trust of India I/Yahoo!News, Aug. 1). A State Department official told U.S. senators yesterday that negotiators applied U.S. nonproliferation rules fairly in reaching the draft nuclear deal with India, PTI reported (see GSN, July 30). “India made a number of commitments it would not have otherwise made in terms of adhering to international standards in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, in the Missile Technology Control Regime and others,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Semmel said. "The net effects of this [agreement] from a positive standpoint is nonproliferation," Semmel said, replying to a senator’s statement that "there is a perception of a double standard about our agreement with India." "This is an issue that's obviously been debated, not just out on the airwaves, the mass media and the think tanks, but also here in both chambers of Congress,” Semmel said (Press Trust of India II/Yahoo!News, Aug. 1). A Japanese official said yesterday that Tokyo is cautious about entering into any nuclear cooperation deal with India because New Delhi has not signed an international nonproliferation agreement, the Associated Press reported. “The Japanese government is taking a very cautious position,” said Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mitsuo Sakaba.  “India is not a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.” Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso yesterday told Mukherjee in Manila that Japan would observe the outcome of India’s negotiations with the U.N. nuclear watchdog and the Nuclear Suppliers Group in deciding how to proceed, Sakaba said (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Aug. 1). Back to top       U.S. Tests Sea-Based Radiation Scanners Shipboard radiation detectors are being tested on cargo containers heading from California to Hawaii, in hopes of making inspections more efficient, the Contra Costa Times reported yesterday (see GSN, July 26). “You’ve got days on the ocean, and you only get minutes in the port” to do the screenings, said physicist George Lasche of Sandia National Laboratories, which developed the devices.  “The alternative is to inspect all these containers before they leave foreign ports.” Radiation tests on land are hampered by significant background radiation, but there is less interference competing with the highly sophisticated detection equipment while at sea. “It’s more like trying to hear a whisper in a library,” Lasche said.  He said that researchers would work to overcome false alarms from harmless sources of radiation such as aluminum and fertilizer. The Homeland Security Department originally scheduled eight testing voyages between Oakland and Honolulu but has added additional runs to test a variety of cargo scanning devices (Betsy Mason, Contra Costa Times, Aug. 1). Back to top       DHS Orders Outside Study of Cargo Screeners The U.S. Homeland Security Department has ordered a battery of independent tests for its highly touted cargo and vehicle radiation screening machines, the Washington Post reported yesterday (see GSN, July 20). A 2006 DHS cost-benefit report stated the portal monitors, which would be used to screen cars, cargo and trucks, would have a 95 percent success rate in detecting highly enriched uranium that could be used in nuclear weapons.  However, department trials have shown the $377,000 machines to be only 50 percent effective.  The discrepancy prompted Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff to request the testing, he said Friday in a letter to several congressmen. The $1.2 billion cost of the radiation screening program demands close scrutiny of the machines, Chertoff added.  Homeland Security has asked the Defense Department’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency to administer the tests, the Post reported. The new Advanced Spectroscopic Portal monitors are intended to improve upon technology that has set off false alarms over kitty litter and other harmless sources of radiation, clogging traffic at border crossings.  However, a Government Accountability Office report questioned the DHS findings on the new technology and Congress has withheld funding until the monitors can be proven effective (see GSN, July 17, 2006). The Homeland Security cost-benefit study was found to be “incomplete and unreliable, and as a result, we do not have confidence in it,” said one Government Accountability Office official in March. “Given the likely expense and critical importance of these monitors, which is to cost $1.2 billion, we need independent and impartial validation from the start,” said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) (Robert O’Harrow, Washington Post, Aug. 1). Back to top

Texas A&M Biodefense Research Head Resigns The Texas A&M University official overseeing the school’s federally funded biological defense research activities resigned from his post yesterday amidst an ongoing investigation of mishaps involving dangerous disease agents, the Dallas Morning News reported (see GSN, Aug. 1). Richard Ewing announced his resignation as the university’s vice president of research after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials spent a week at the College Station campus.  The federal agency has been looking into the university’s failure to report 2006 incidents in which a laboratory worker was infected with brucella bacteria and three others were exposed to Q fever. Texas A&M officials have acknowledged their failure to alert the federal health agency, which has suspended all research at the university involving “select agents.” Last week, university officials said the infected laboratory worker was not authorized to work with the brucella agent, and the campus laboratory where the exposure took place was not authorized to carry out experiments involving the disease. It remains unclear if Ewing was involved in the reporting failures, the Morning News reported.  The researcher who headed the unapproved brucella experiments remains on leave. In a letter submitted to colleagues yesterday, Ewing said he was leaving his position he has held since 2000 “during a time the university is under tremendous scrutiny surrounding its select agent research program.” “I fully intend to work with the interim university administration, faculty and staff to help bring our program back into full compliance,” said Ewing, who is due to stay at the university as a tenured professor in the mathematics department (Emily Ramshaw, Dallas Morning News, Aug. 2). Back to top

Chinese Antichemical Troops Play Greater Role Chinese army soldiers who respond to emergencies involving chemical and radioactive materials are taking on greater responsibility, the Xinhua News Agency reported today (see GSN, April 9). China’s military must still respond to accidents involving chemical weapons abandoned by the Japanese army after World War II. “China, though free of chemical weapons, has a lot of civilian chemical plants and chemical bombs abandoned by foreign countries in wartime," said Col. Xu Xingtian, who sits on an expert panel for the environmental protection bureau in China’s Shandong province.  “That’s why in peacetime the antichemical soldiers are playing a bigger and bigger role in safety precautions and emergency rescues,” he said. China currently employs 39,330 antichemical soldiers, about 1.7 percent of its total armed forces, according to official statistics.  The number of antichemical troops in China has grown steadily in past decades even as its military’s overall size has fallen to 2.3 million troops. The Chinese army’s antichemical regiment in Jinan province has responded to 17 major chemical accidents since 1960, saving more than 100 people in rescue operations involving toxic gas leaks in tanker accidents and chemical plant explosions, Xinhua reported. “In May 2005, a group of my fellow soldiers spent two days at a construction site in Jinan removing an unexploded chemical bomb left by the Japanese troops more than 50 years ago,” said Zhang Bo, a member of the Jinan antichemical regiment (Xinhua News Agency/People’s Daily, Aug.2). Back to top       Mustard Leaks Found at Deseret Chemical Depot A 155 mm projectile and a bulk container valve each leaked less than one teaspoon of mustard agent in separate storage units at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah before personnel found the leaks yesterday, the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency said (see GSN, July 26). Workers wearing protective gear cleaned up the spills, sealed the leaking projectile in an airtight container and placed an airtight hood on the bulk container.  They plan to replace the container’s valves this week. No mustard vapor escaped from the filtered storage units, said an Army press release (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Aug. 1). Back to top

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