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RANSAC Nuclear News, February 25, 2003 Compiled by Lauren Arestie A. MPC&A
 A. MPC&A 1. At Mayak, Lax Security Worries U.S. Imagine these news stories coming out of Rocky Flats: A security guard kills two colleagues and flees with their guns and ammunition. Three guards desperate to get drunk poison themselves with antifreeze. Thieves steal a ton of metal from the high-security site, then try to sell it at a scrap yard that notices 500 times the normal level of radioactivity. The crooks dump their "hot" commodity into a river. Other thieves attempt to pilfer enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb. Officials say they disrupted the plot, but release no further details. All of these security breaches have occurred during the past four years at Mayak -- the Russian version of Rocky Flats -- a nuclear weapons complex hidden deep in a forest in the heart of Russia. Tucked behind trees and fences, partially buried under earth and lakes, the 77-square-mile complex was once so secret even the neighbors didn't know what it did. Today, Mayak's Russian neighbors still aren't allowed inside the company town, Ozersk. Signs warn foreigners they could be arrested just for coming within miles of the place, although residents say it's easy to bribe a guard to break the rules. Security is weak inside Mayak, too. Rose Gottemuller, the Clinton administration's deputy undersecretary of energy for non-proliferation, has seen pails of plutonium stored in a Mayak warehouse with broken wooden doors and glass windows. "They bent down and pulled out a bucket of plutonium and handed it to me," she said, still shocked. The contradictory security -- incredibly tight yet unbelievably lax -- resulted from the collapse of the dictatorship that ran the Soviet Union until 1991. Security was simple when no foreigner could get near the place, and every insider informed on his neighbor, said Laura Holgate of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Ted Turner-funded program aimed at reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction. But now Russians and foreigners alike can travel the country without being stopped every few miles for a document check. And Mayak employees -- poorly paid and susceptible to bribes from drug runners feeding the closed city's growing narcotics problem -- are seen by the United States as the weakest link in the security chain. Mayak security has improved since 1998, when Russia's financial meltdown saw unpaid nuclear plant guards leaving their posts to forage for food and refusing to patrol because they didn't have winter coats, said Matthew Bunn, a Harvard expert on nuclear non-proliferation. The Russian government says guards are now paid about $300 a month. But Bunn is still worried. He said the theft of a ton of steel from inside the plant "suggests that it wouldn't be that hard to steal plutonium." Ministry of Atomic Energy spokesman Nikolai Shingarev dismisses the security breakdowns at Mayak. "Such incidents happen everywhere," he said. The worries about security have prompted American officials to intervene. U.S. taxpayers are spending $458.2 million at Mayak to prevent allies of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein from hiring someone to snatch a nuclear weapon or the critical ingredients. Much of the money is going to securing the world's largest store of plutonium, a nuclear bomb ingredient coveted by dictators around the world. At least $350 million is going to the U.S. construction company Bechtel and its Russian subcontractors for a huge high-security warehouse, which Americans call the "plutonium palace." American security strategy is designed to slow thieves long enough for them to be stopped, according to Gottemuller. The plutonium she saw in easily snatched pails in a Mayak warehouse is now covered with huge slabs of concrete. "They can't be moved without a crane," she said. But Congress has only barely supported the program to improve Russian security, even though half of Russia's weapons-grade plutonium and uranium is still considered insecure. Since the budget of the Ministry of Atomic Energy remains secret, some members of Congress fear that the Russians are spending American dollars on weapons research. Mayak also is one of several Russian nuclear plants involved in a program that dilutes weapons-grade uranium so that it can be used as nuclear power plant fuel, but not in bombs. American power plants are committed to buy $12 billion of this fuel over 20 years, and effectively burn up Russian nuclear bombs to make U.S. electricity. Altogether, the program has eliminated weapons-grade plutonium for 6,000 warheads. Pavel Oleinikov, who grew up in a closed city near Ozersk and now works in non-proliferation in the United States, worries that the U.S. programs will leave gaping holes in Russian nuclear security. "A high-level manager can supersede all regulations, and say, 'Let's ship it to our new commercial partner in North Korea,' " he said. "It's unlikely anyone would challenge him. For every low-level soldier to perform his duty, there must be a spirit of democracy." American officials say that even as American taxpayers spend huge sums on Mayak, the Russian government has repeatedly hassled those sent to check on the program. In 1999, Americans were stopped 25 times. Recently, the ministry barred a Rocky Mountain News team from the plant, the town, and even the U.S.-financed construction site. "You're not the only one with these problems. No one is allowed in," said ministry spokesman Shingarev. return to menu 2. Moscow Increasing Security at Power Plants Russia is increasing security at nuclear power plants throughout the country, with an additional focus on the Rostovskaya and Novoronezhskaya plants located near Chechnya, the head of Russia's nuclear safety agency said yesterday. "Now and then (Chechen warlord Shamil) Basayev and others declare that attacks on nuclear facilities are inevitable," said Yury Vishnevsky, head of Gosatomnadzor, overseer of Russia's nuclear power industry. "Information from the power agencies indicates that there have been attempted attacks," he added. Since the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, Gosatomnadzor has screened nuclear plant employees more carefully, Vishnevsky said. Beginning in 2002, each plant employee that operates equipment must first pass a set of tests and receive a license from the agency, according to Russia's St. Petersburg Times. The agency also conducted 11,449 inspections last year, which found 12,294 violations, Vishnevsky said, adding that the total was less than those found in 2001. Vishnevsky also said yesterday that Russia needed to reform its nuclear material stockpile accounting and safeguards systems. "The current accounting system needs serious improvement," Vishnevsky said. "In many companies the system is the same as how it was in our grandparents' time, when a woman sits with a book and writes down how much she gave to whom," he added. Russia's spent-fuel reprocessing plant, located at the Mayak nuclear facility, could reobtain its operating license by the end of next month, Vishnevsky said. The plant has been closed because of concerns that radioactive wastes were contaminating area water supplies. "We have a few more questions, and if they answer them, we will give a license by the end of March," Vishnevsky said. return to menu 3. Russia's Nuclear Security Poor MOSCOW - Russia must urgently reform the way it accounts for and safeguards its nuclear stockpile if it is to keep track of thousands of tons of radioactive material, the country's nuclear watchdog said on Thursday. "The current accounting system needs serious improvement," Yuri Vishnevsky, the director of Gosatomnadzor, told reporters. "In many companies the system is the same as how it was in our grandparents' time, when a woman sits with a book and writes down how much she gave to whom." After the collapse of the Soviet Union, generous government funding for nuclear facilities dried up and security at even the most secret plants became porous. Since 1991, there have been several cases of stolen nuclear material. One of the most serious incidents was in 1994, when three men were arrested at Munich airport in Germany, carrying 363 grams of Russian weapons-grade plutonium. "In 2002, there were two or three cases when people tried to steal radioactive material from factories. It was found, although not all the people involved were detained," he said. Vishnevsky said the scale of Russia's nuclear industry made it extremely hard for officials to keep track of precise quantities - one reason there are fears that material for weapons could make its way to terrorist groups. He said Russia's only civilian reprocessing plant shut down last month over fears radioactive water was tainting local water supplies, could regain its operating license. "We have a few more questions, and if they answer them we will give a license by the end of March." The reprocessing plant at the Mayak facility in the Urals Mountains currently dumps medium and low radioactive waste into specially built reservoirs, but ecologists have warned they could overflow in the spring thaw and taint local farmland. Mayak had the worst nuclear disaster in Russia in 1957 when hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to radiation. Greenpeace says it is one of the most polluted places on earth. return to menu 4. GAN RF and U.S. PNNL Discuss Introducing Information Supervisory System February 17-21 the working meetings of experts from Gosatomnadzor of Russia (GAN) and Pacific North-West National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy (PNNL) are held to discuss the project "Development of Information System for Supervision over Nuclear Material Physical Protection, Control and Accounting". As the PR and mass media office of GAN reports, the following issues are under discussion now - implementation of the information system for supervision over control, accounting and physical protection of nuclear materials in the Siberian and Urals Interregional Offices of GAN, performance, long-term support, and expansion of the system to other GAN offices. At the same time in GAN the working meetings are held with the representatives of the EC under the TACIS Project "Western Regulatory Methodology and Practices Transfer to Gosatomnadzor of Russia" within the task "Transfer of Modern Information Management Methodology". The meetings discuss the issues of information and information flow management in the corporate networks and the use of web-technologies for informing of mass media and the public. return to menu B. Russian Nuclear Forces 1. Russian Nuclear Power Minister: Modern Nuclear Weapons Guarantee Peace MOSCOW - It is modern nuclear weapons that at present are a deterrent making it possible to preserve peace, said Russian Nuclear Power Minister Alexander Rumyantsev in a conversation with journalists on Friday. It is necessary to continue scientific research and development in the sphere, which will ensure Russia's nuclear security in the future, he pointed out. Five countries have now acquired nuclear weapons, Rumyantsev said. They are Russia, the USA, China, France and Great Britain. India and Pakistan also have nuclear weapons and, according to some information, Israel also has such weapons at its disposal. It is impossible to receive reliable information about other countries that may have acquired nuclear weapons, he said. Many countries have uranium ore deposits, "but it does not mean that these countries will create their own nuclear bomb", the minister emphasized. For example, some uranium ore deposits are situated in Iran, but at present this country does not have the necessary scientific and technical potential to produce nuclear weapons, he believes. return to menu 2. Soldiers Killed At Nuclear Base MOSCOW - A soldier at a Russian nuclear forces site killed four comrades before killing himself, army authorities said. The conscript shot the four servicemen guarding an equipment storehouse on a Siberian missile base just after midnight on Wednesday, then shot himself, the Strategic Rocket Forces said. Sergei Khanov had been stationed at the base near the city of Krasnoyarsk, about 3,400 kilometers (2,100 miles) east of Moscow, for a year, the Forces said in a statement. He opened fire with a Kalashnikov automatic rifle at the heads of the guards and three other conscripts in a guardroom. The Interfax news agency reported that other soldiers in the unit escaped by hiding in an attic. According to a preliminary investigation, the Forces said, "the cause of the tragedy might be a psychological breakdown caused by a higher burden of military service." The demoralized and underfunded Russian military is plagued by desertions, killings and suicides, many of which stem from bullying of young conscripts by older soldiers. But such incidents have been rare among troops in charge of Russia's nuclear arsenal. Anti-conscription activists argue that only a transfer to a fully-contract army can reduce the numbers killed in such shootings. return to menu C. U.S. Nuclear Forces 1. U.S. Considers Conventional Warheads on Nuclear Missiles WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. - As the military girds for a protracted war against terrorists and the countries that support them, the Pentagon is considering converting some of its long-range, ground-based nuclear missiles into nonnuclear rockets that could be used to strike states like Iraq and North Korea on short notice. The weapon would give the United States the ability to attack targets thousands of miles away with precision-guided, conventional high explosives in minutes, military officials said. Because of the missiles' speed, they would be able to pierce current air defenses and avoid putting American pilots at risk, they added. Replacing nuclear warheads with conventional weapons on some of the nation's globe-girdling missiles is a proposal that is barely on the drawing board. The Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs will begin formally exploring the idea of converting some Minuteman III missiles this fall in a two-year review the military calls an "analysis of alternatives." But senior Air Force and Pentagon officials are seriously weighing the proposal as part of a larger rethinking of the kind of deterrence and long-range attack weapons the military will need in the security environment that followed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "I'd be very, very surprised if 5, 10 years down the road, that we would not have a ballistic missile of some type with conventional munitions on board so that it could serve the nation's needs for a prompt global strike," said Maj. Gen. Timothy J. McMahon, commander of the 20th Air Force here, which runs and maintains the nation's silo-based arsenal of 500 long-range Minuteman III and 45 Peacekeeper nuclear missiles. "If the nation decides that it wants to place at risk certain targets that emerge, and that if you need to strike those things in a very prompt manner - 35 to 45 minutes - a ballistic missile gives you that capability," General McMahon said. "It's basically long-range artillery. But the type of munition on board would be unlike any other artillery we've ever used." General McMahon said the conventional warhead atop a long-range missile could be drawn from an array of high explosives or specialized payloads, including so-called bunker busters that attack targets buried deep underground. Even without an explosive payload, the sheer force of impact of the missile's re-entry vehicle - which moves at 14,000 feet per second - would be highly destructive, the general said. Arms control experts are wary of the military's proposal. Converting nuclear missiles to nonnuclear missiles would reduce the overall number of strategic weapons, but there would be no assurances that the military would not someday rearm the missiles with nuclear weapons, a move that other countries could follow. "It could elicit a response from other missile powers, like China or Russia," said Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington. Other political and diplomatic hurdles would have to be cleared. Pentagon officials say they expect that any long-range missiles with conventional arms would be counted under existing arms control agreements, including the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START. The military has considered using Minuteman III missiles in a conventional role before, but the latest proposal comes as the Bush administration has overhauled its nuclear strategy to adapt to shifting world situations. The Pentagon argues that in a world of unexpected threats and hostile states, it needs a broader array of nuclear and nonnuclear options. Last March, details emerged from a secret Pentagon report, the Nuclear Posture Review, that addressed these issues. On the one hand, the report called for developing nuclear weapons that would be better suited for striking targets in Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Libya, a shift away from cold war situations involving Russia. But the Pentagon report also found that nonnuclear conventional weapons were becoming an increasingly important element of the military's arsenal, to be used in what planners call long-range global strikes. Now, the military depends on piloted Air Force and Navy bombers or unmanned cruise missiles fired from planes, ships or submarines to attack targets. Strategists in the Air Force, Defense Department and the United States Strategic Command in Omaha are also using the report to mull over ways to convert the nation's nuclear arsenal into weapons that could be used to deter the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, or destroy them on short notice. "In many ways, we'd be taking a legacy of the cold war and adapting it in the direction the Nuclear Posture Review described," said a senior Defense Department official who follows nuclear policy closely. The Bush administration has said that it plans to reduce strategic nuclear weapons to 1,700 to 2,200 warheads from the 6,000 or so nuclear weapons that the United States has now. Here on the windswept high plains of southeastern Wyoming, the reductions are already under way. Beginning last fall, Air Force technicians started dismantling the Peacekeeper missiles, each armed with up to 10 nuclear warheads, as part of a nuclear-force reduction agreement that President Bush and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia reached last year. The Peacekeepers will be deactivated over the next three years. At the same time, the fleet of single-warhead Minuteman III's, stored in underground silos across Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Montana and North Dakota, is being modernized to improve accuracy and reliability. While nuclear deterrence remains commanders' top priority, the new proposal could push the military's strategic operators in a different direction. "It's quite possible that the conventional application of that kind of technology will be an attractive option for the future," said Gen. Lance W. Lord, commander of the Air Force Space Command. "How these plans will emerge and how combatant commanders will choose to use those is something we'll think about." return to menu D. Russia-Iran 1. IAEA Visit to Iran Reveals Uranium Enrichment Facility Near Nantanz (excerpted) Inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog during a visit to Iran last week were shown sophisticated machinery for the enrichment of uranium - fanning the West's fears that Tehran is making strides in a suspected nuclear weapons production program, Western officials and international diplomats said over the weekend. The uranium enrichment site, near the city of Nantanz, was visited Friday by Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief inspector for the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, who led a small delegation on a long-awaited visit to Iran to assess the status of its nuclear program. It was the first time inspectors have visited the facility, which was first revealed publicly in December, when the Pentagon showed commercial satellite photos of the site. During the visit to the Nantanz plant, ElBaradei said inspectors found that it included a small network of centrifuges for enriching uranium. Officials also said they learned that Iran has the capability to make additional centrifuges. Iran last week publicized that it was mining uranium ore near the city of Yazd, and the existence of the enrichment centrifuges essentially gives Iran full control over nuclear fuel cycle technologies it says it is employing for peaceful, energy-producing purposes. American officials believe the Nantanz plant is part of a long-suspected nuclear weapons program - a program that US defense and intelligence circles say has benefited from Russian and Pakistani know-how. These officials assert that Iran's aim is to mine or purchase uranium, process the ore and enrich it to levels that would be suitable for the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Tehran's admitted uranium mines, plus the confirmation of the centrifuges at Nantanz, would give Iran a largely indigenous capability to make nuclear weapons, Washington officials fear. The US State Department this week will dispatch its chief arms negotiator, Undersecretary of State John Bolton, to Moscow for more talks with Russian nuclear officials to dissuade them from further assisting Iran's nuclear program. At present, Russia's Ministry of Atomic Energy, or Minatom, is building a hotly contested, $800m, 1000-megawatt light water reactor in the Iranian port of Bushehr that is scheduled to start running in late 2003 or early 2004. Last week, Minatom said it will offer to build a second reactor there. Moscow has also asserted its interest in building as many as four more reactors over the next ten years in Iran, but Washington has charged that Russian expertise is being applied to weapons development. Pentagon officials, in December, said Moscow is helping with the Nantanz uranium facility and with a heavy water facility near Arak, in central Iran, which was also revealed in December's satellite photos. Moscow and Tehran have denied Russia's complicity in the construction of the sites. As part of an effort to appease Washington's fears, Moscow and Iran last month signed contracts stipulating that Russia will be the sole supplier of fuel for the Bushehr reactor, and will also take back the spent nuclear fuel, or SNF, to reduce risks that Iran will reprocess it for weapons-grade plutonium. But Iran's capabilities to mine and process its own uranium have, from Washington's perspective, rendered moot Moscow's assurances about Iranian SNF. On Friday, Minatom Chief Alexander Rumyantsev told a news conference that "at this time, Iran does not have the capacity to build nuclear weapons," the Associated Press reported. He again defended Russian assistance as geared to peaceful purposes, saying that Moscow is giving Iran "only technology that is monitored and authorized by the IAEA. I can vouch that construction of an atomic power station with the return of spent fuel [to Russia] poses no danger." [...] return to menu 2. Russia Dismisses US Worries On Iran Nuclear Plant MOSCOW - A top Russian official last week dismissed U.S. concerns that Moscow's role in building the first nuclear power station in Iran could help that country get nuclear weapons. "At this moment in time, Iran does not have the capacity to build nuclear weapons," Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev told reporters. Moscow is helping to build the plant in the port of Bushehr. Separately, Tehran set out an ambitious nuclear energy plan this month, including enrichment of uranium. "We are giving them only technology that is monitored and authorized by the International Atomic Energy Agency. I can vouch that construction of an atomic power station with the return of spent fuel (to Russia) poses no danger," Rumyantsev said. Russia has known for a long time that Iran had uranium ore. "The fact that it intends to extract the uranium is its economic right," Rumyantsev said. Russia says it is providing Iran only with civilian nuclear equipment, with fuel from the 1,000 megawatt Bushehr plant to be shipped back to Russia for reprocessing. But some U.S. experts say Iran could use the know-how acquired from the Russians, if not the technology, to develop nuclear arms. Rumyantsev had no comment on talks next week in Moscow between Russian officials and U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton. Russian sources said the visit by the top U.S. arms negotiator was a regular, scheduled visit. Iran has been denounced by U.S. President George W. Bush as part of the "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea. U.S. officials have said Russia's nuclear dealings with Iran are the single biggest thorn in relations with Washington, much improved since Russian President Vladimir Putin threw his support behind the U.S. war against terror. Rumyanstev said a visit to Iran by an IAEA delegation would help put Washington at ease. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, arrived in Tehran last week to discuss the nuclear program which Iran says is needed to meet the energy demands of its 65 million people. "There is always concern when countries develop nuclear technology, but a high-ranking IAEA delegation is due in Iran," Rumyantsev said. "A lot of questions will be answered while this delegation travels and works there." return to menu 3. U.S. Raises Fears on Nuclear Iran The top US official for arms control is to visit Russia this week to underscore concerns over Iran's nuclear program following an inspection by the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, who said he was struck by the level of sophistication he had seen. John Bolton, under-secretary of state for arms control and international security, is expected to warn Moscow that its technology may be giving Iran the means to develop nuclear arms, a US official involved in proliferation issues says. US concerns about Iran's nuclear program were not laid to rest by the first visit of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to Iran's newly declared uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, told reporters in Tehran he had seen a pilot facility, which he indicated was complete, and a large centrifuge enrichment plant still under construction. He described the facilities as sophisticated and comprehensive. A centrifuge facility can enrich uranium to power a nuclear plant and provide the fissile material needed to build a nuclear bomb. Iran has recently said it intends to develop the full nuclear fuel cycle for its nuclear program, for peaceful purposes only. Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said Iran had assured Mr ElBaradei all its nuclear activities would be under IAEA surveillance. He also said Iran would hold more talks on the agency's additional safeguards protocol that would give IAEA experts more access, including inspection of undeclared sites. Mr ElBaradei said Iran could only dispel doubts about its nuclear ambitions by signing the additional protocol. He welcomed a commitment from Iran to inform the IAEA of plans to build new nuclear facilities as soon as a decision was taken, calling this a "sign of greater transparency". The IAEA was unhappy that Iran only gave notification of Natanz and a heavy water plant at Arak in September, months after construction began. Alexander Rumyantsev, Russia's atomic energy minister, last week said Iran did not have the capacity to build nuclear weapons. "We are giving them only technology that is monitored and authorized by the IAEA," he said, referring to the Bushehr plant being built with Russian help. return to menu 4. US Envoy Presses Russia On Iranian Nuclear Program MOSCOW - A top US arms control official on Monday launched three days of talks in Moscow to press Russia on the dangers posed by its nuclear cooperation with Iran. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov for talks on global strategic security and non-proliferation, the Interfax news agency reported. Bolton and Mamedov were to discuss a multi-billion-dollar G8-financed program to destroy and safeguard Russia's weapons of mass destruction as well as proposals for US-Russian cooperation on missile defense, diplomatic sources told Interfax. US officials said last week that while Bolton's trip had been previously arranged, the focus of his visit would be increasing US concerns about Iran's nuclear programs and Russia's continued cooperation with Tehran in that area, especially with its help on a reactor at Bushehr. "We want the Russians to realize the nature of our concerns and hopefully act on them," one official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The United States has long pressed Russia to curtail or eliminate its nuclear cooperation with Iran, which is one-third of President George W. Bush's "axis of evil" and is designated by Washington a "state sponsor of terrorism." However, earlier this month, US fears that Iran is using its nuclear energy programs to hide atomic weapons development jumped when Tehran admitted that it was mining uranium. During his three-day stay in Moscow, Bolton is also due to meet Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev, Russian space agency chief Yury Koptev and other officials. return to menu 5. Russia: Iran Has Right To Benefit From Atomic Energy MOSCOW - Russia's Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev, emphasizing that his country's nuclear cooperation with Iran is merely focussed on peaceful usage of that energy, said here on Friday, "it is the natural right of Iran to use the nuclear energy." According to Russia's Intefax news agency, Rumyantsev who was taking part at a press conference, added, "the nuclear technology provided by Russia at Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant is under direct supervision of the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA). He emphasized, "Iran, at the present time, has none of the required technical facilities to manufacture atomic weapons." Rumyantsev added, "unlike the United States, Russia is not the slightest bit worried about the discovery of uranium mines in Iran." Referring to the ongoing trip of an IAEA high ranking delegation, headed by the IAEA head Muhamed ElBaradei to Iran, he said, "their talks with the Iranian authorities would further clarify the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear activities." The Russian atomic energy minister further stressed, "it is also the economic and natural right of the Iranians to benefit from their own uranium mines to provide fuel for their atomic plants." Numerous Russian authorities have during the past few months reacted to the US authorities' claims regarding Iran's intention to manufacture its own nuclear weapons, assuring the world that Iran's nuclear facilities are merely capable of producing atomic power for peaceful purposes. Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamal Kharrazi once again last week stressed on the peaceful nature of Iran's program for civilian application of nuclear energy, and that the government has decided to use nuclear energy for generating electricity under the supervision and expertise assistance of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran uses an estimated at 2.5 million barrels of oil per day for generating electricity for domestic consumption and is looking for substitute energy to produce cost-effective electricity, Kharrazi said. "Iran has transparent program to apply nuclear energy for peaceful use. Iran has no plan to produce nuclear arms and believes that the entire Middle East should become nuclear free zone," Kharrazi said. "All Iranian nuclear facilities are being monitored by the IAEA and the agency's cameras are being installed over all Iranian nuclear sites," he said. return to menu 6. Under Secretary Of State John Bolton To Discuss Iranian Nuclear Program In Moscow MOSCOW - Under Secretary of State John Bolton is due to discuss Iranian nuclear program in Moscow, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow told RIA Novosti. According to him, the high-ranking American diplomat arrives in Moscow on Monday morning to stay there for two days. Bolton is due to meet Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev, head of the Russian Space Agency Yury Koptev, Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov and other officials, the ambassador said. According to Vershbow, the goal of Bolton's visit is "to continue the dialogue with Russia on Iran issues, to voice concerns about the Iranian nuclear program and Russo-Iranian relations in this sphere." Vershbow said the recent information coming to Washington from the Iranian opposition suggests that Iran was secretly developing nuclear technologies. He added that Bolton hoped to find a common approach to this issue together with Russia. return to menu 7. U.S. to Accelerate Talks with Russia on Iran Nukes WASHINGTON - The Bush administration, deeply concerned about Iran's announced plans to develop its own nuclear fuel, will accelerate talks with Russia aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring full nuclear capability, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The administration believes Tehran's public announcement this month about its nuclear fuel activities has made the Iranian nuclear problem far more difficult to resolve and that the onus is on Moscow, which has provided critical nuclear assistance to Tehran, to find a solution, the officials said. Undersecretary of State John Bolton, the administration's top arms control and nonproliferation official, is expected to leave Washington on Sunday for talks with senior Russian officials in Moscow from Monday through Wednesday. "A lot of the basis for the Russian argument that Iran's nuclear program is not a problem has now disappeared and we need to talk to them about that and to think about how to deal with Iran in the post-Saddam period," one U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Bolton's trip was set after Iran's atomic energy chief, Gholamreza Aqazadeh, said on Feb. 10 that the country had started an ambitious nuclear energy program and was poised to begin processing uranium. One day earlier, President Mohammad Khatami said Iran possessed uranium ore reserves and had begun mining operations in the Savand area, 125 miles from the central city of Yazd. return to menu E. Russia-U.S. 1. Deputy Head Of Russian Foreign Ministry, U.S. Undersecretary Of State Discuss Iraq And North Korea MOSCOW - Deputy foreign minister of Russia, political director of Russia in the G-8 group of countries Georgy Mamedov has received today US Undersecretary of State John Bolton who is in Moscow on a working visit to discuss bilateral relations and the situation around Iraq and North Korea. During the talks the parties discussed the Russian-US Treaty on strategic offensive reductions that had entered the final stage of its ratification. These issues, as the parties noted, were of special significance in the conditions of increased international uncertainty and instability. The parties expressed satisfaction with the course of the ratification process in both countries and spoke in favor of its quickest completion. At this, they noted the importance of the continuing discussion of the mutually related issues of anti-ballistic missile defense. The parties also discussed a number of international issues, first of all, the situation around Iraq and the Korean peninsula. The Russian side stressed the importance of the maximum possible use of multilateral diplomatic instruments, including the universal system of commitments in the field of non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons for the quickest peaceful reduction of growing global and regional tension. The parties also discussed in detail the implementation of the initiative of the G-8 summit in Kananaskis on global partnership against the proliferation of mass destruction weapons and materials. The parties expressed mutual readiness to seek new concrete results in this field on a bilateral and multilateral basis in compliance with the principal accords reached between the Presidents of Russia and the USA. Mamedov noted in this connection the importance of the initiative by French President Jacques Chirac on the convocation of the UN Security Council on the issues of non-proliferation. return to menu F. Nuclear Smuggling 1. Domestic Needs Draw Staff From East European Border Control Training A U.S. program aimed at preventing WMD smuggling in Eastern Europe has seen many active duty personnel be reassigned to protect U.S. borders, and officials are now turning to law enforcement retirees to help train East European border guards. The eight-year-old On-Site Directorate Program - run by the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency - sends FBI and U.S. Customs Service teams to Eastern Europe to train officials to detect WMD smuggling and investigate WMD incidents. The program offers classes to local officials on a range of subjects, from investigating crimes to detecting chemical, biological or nuclear weapons at border checkpoints. This is "training that builds professionalism and awareness," said DTRA spokesman Clem Gaines. The teams, which range from five to eight people, were previously stocked with a mix of contractors and active U.S. law enforcement personnel but are now becoming increasingly reliant on former agents. "Three or four years ago, we were using more active duty FBI and Customs," said Ken Keating, chief of DTRA's Arms Control Interagency Liaison Division. The FBI still mandates that at least one member of every team be an active duty agent but some Customs Service teams go into the field staffed entirely by contractors, he said. Program officials, however, do not see the influx of retirees as a weakness. Law enforcement agencies have a mandatory retirement age of 57, which is sometimes too young, according to Keating. Not all contractors are retired FBI or Customs agents, but retirees include a "lot of people who still have a lot of useful life and the program can certainly use their expertise ... If they are retired from the FBI or the Customs they are ideal candidates," he said. The program is divided into two parts, an FBI component that was created in the 1995 Defense Authorization Act and a Customs Service component created in the 1997 Defense Authorization Act. The United States offers the program to countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, except for Russia. Lynn Gibby, the representative for the program's contracting officer, said the program has a mandate to work with about 25 countries. The FBI teams train local officials on internal controls, including how to investigate crimes and how to respond to WMD incidents. Customs Service teams train border control agents to prevent dangerous materials from leaking out of the region. The program is flourishing, officials are adding courses to the schedule and countries are requesting more training, Gibby said. The legislation is open ended and the agency has budgeted $8.8 million to spend on the program in fiscal 2003. Officials have tentatively planned 40 visits this year to hold classes for East European officials. The program, however, is faced with the difficulty of measuring its own effectiveness. Keating said that a lack of incidents involving weapons of mass destruction is encouraging, but it is difficult to take credit for something that does not happen. "It's hard to prove a negative," according to Keating. The situation is similar to a police officer who receives firearms training, but never shoots his gun. "Just because he doesn't fire his weapon, doesn't mean the training was wasted," Keating said. return to menu G. Nuclear Cities 1. Ozersk: City Confidential Residents of Ozersk can't even invite mom for dinner without a security check. The city where Mayak's workers live has been closed to outsiders since Stalin's day. Relatives can get permission to visit, but friends and foreigners are barred. The Minister of Atomic Energy talked of opening the city of 110,000 last fall, but such talk died after terrorists took 700 people hostage in a Moscow theater in November. Mayak workers like their city fenced and guarded, said ministry spokesman Nikolai Shingarev. There's less crime, better social services, newer sports facilities, he said. Nina Grigorieva, a lathe operator in a non-nuclear part of the plant, said she wants to keep Ozersk closed. "Most think it's not necessary to open the town, mostly because of crime," she said. She echoes a common Russian suspicion about olive-skinned southerners. "Chechens, Georgians - did they come with rocks in their pockets, or only to trade?" Grigorieva, one in a group of Ozersk residents who traveled two hours on icy roads to share their lives with a Rocky Mountain News reporter, isn't bothered that her relatives must get government permission to visit. "All my friends are right here in town," she said. "If we open the city, all my relatives would come to live." But Natalya Manzurova, a retired nuclear safety specialist, would prefer to see the city open. "I would like to invite my relatives and friends," she said. "We have theaters and galleries, but people who live a few miles away can't see them." Natalya Kutepova, a nurse turned sociologist and the daughter of a disabled Mayak engineer, said Ozersk hasn't seen the same influx of foreign companies as the rest of Russia. "Samsung can't open a branch here because it's a closed city," she said. Mayak controls the city, even in this time of democratic elections. Virtually all city officials came from the plant, Kutepova said. "Many people are afraid to stand up for their rights," she said. In Soviet times, even the town's name was secret, and residents received mail addressed to Chelyabinsk-65 - the name of the closest major city, with a postal code attached. Then, the closure was a terrific advantage, because Ozersk was supplied with such scarce commodities as meat and refrigerators and furniture, said Larisa Gurova, a retired plutonium researcher. Gurova remembers that she and her husband and newborn immediately received an apartment on moving to Mayak. That could have taken 10 to 20 years on a waiting list elsewhere. Manzurova, who was born to Mayak workers in 1951 and raised in Ozersk before joining the staff herself, recalls having a bomb shelter under her school. "They taught us we were not the aggressor, you were," she said. "The first time I heard that Americans are scared of us, I was so surprised." But with the end of the Soviet Union and its system of terrifying citizens into toeing the line, crime soared and even seeped into Ozersk. Kutepova says it's now 40 percent higher than the national average. With guards who take bribes, Mayak retiree Gennady Krasnov wonders whether there's any point in pretending the city is still closed. "Why have such a restriction if it doesn't work?" he asked. return to menu H. Nuclear Industry 1. Safe Operation Of Power Units Is Main Condition Of Nuclear Power Development Safe operation of power units is main condition of nuclear power development as in Russia as in other countries. This was reportedly said by Oleg Saraev, Director General of Rosenergoatom Concern during the Chief Engineer meeting of soviet-design NPPs held in Moscow. Nuclear.Ru was informed on the event by the Concern Press-Center. "The mere fact that new power units have not been built for a long period of time and upgrading and safety improvement carried out at the existing ones urges us to implement more straightforward operation-related measures. Our activities to ensure appropriate NPP operation level must lay the basis for changing the public attitude to nuclear power as the industry posing significant hazard to people", said Mr. Saraev stressing that the role of chief engineers in this process is prominent. The statistical data and good dynamics of nuclear and radiation safety data over decade demonstrate improving safety of the Russian NPPs. However, as Mr. Saraev noted, it is necessary to increase electricity generation to create a sounder basis for the nuclear power industry development. Nikolai Sorokin, Technical Director of Rosenergoatom Concern, in his address to the meeting noted the high quality of operation of nuclear power plants built to soviet-time designs. For example, the Finnish Loviisa NPP is on the Top Ten List of world NPPs in terms of safety indicators. According to Farid Tukhvetov, Director of the Moscow WANO Center, several recent years have witnessed a trend of safety improvement of all nuclear power plants covered by the Moscow Center. The exchange of experience between the NPP specialists has played a significant part here. Danko Bilei, Vice-President of the National Power Generating Company of the Ukraine (NPGC) "Energoatom" said that such meetings are useful in all respects and it is necessary to use experience gained by colleagues in different countries. Results of the meeting will form the basis for development of safety improvement measures related to equipment performance and those to eliminate conditions leading to personnel errors. return to menu I. Announcements 1. Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Georgy Mamedov Meets with US Under Secretary of State John Bolton On February 24 Georgy Mamedov, Deputy Foreign Minister and Russian Federation G8 Political Director, received US Under Secretary of State John Bolton, currently staying on a working visit to Moscow. During a thorough conversation, the sides examined questions of the ratification now in its conclusive stage of the Russian-US Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, which are assuming special importance in the conditions of increased international uncertainty and instability. They expressed satisfaction with the course of the ratification process in both countries and spoke in favor of its earliest possible conclusion. They also noted the importance of the continuing discussion of interrelated ABM questions. The interlocutors also discussed a number of acute international problems, above all the situation around Iraq and the Korean peninsula, with the Russian side underlining the importance of using to the fullest possible extent multilateral diplomatic instruments, including the universal system of commitments in the field of the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, for a speedy peaceful relaxation of mounting global and region tensions. The course of the implementation of the initiative of the G-8 Kananaskis summit for the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction was also examined in detail. There was expressed mutual readiness to try to achieve new concrete results in this field both on a bilateral and on a multilateral basis in accordance with the agreements in principle of the Russian and US presidents. Georgy Mamedov noted in this connection the importance of the initiative of French President Jacques Chirac for the convening of a UNSC summit on the questions of nonproliferation. return to menu 2. Alexander Yakovenko Answers a Question Regarding Consideration by UN Security Council of the "Nuclear Problem" of the DPRK Question: Could you comment on the consideration by the United Nations Security Council of the North Korean problem that took place the other day? Answer: Indeed, on February 19 in the course of a consultative meeting of the United Nations Security Council its President drew attention to the report that had come in, and the resolution of the IAEA Governing Board concerning the DPRK's nonobservance of the agreement with the Agency on the application of safeguards in connection with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. At the end of the consultations the Council's President made a brief verbal statement to the press stating that those documents had been received and that the Council's experts were now to study this matter. It is important that the debate has shown the prevailing disposition of the Security Council members to consider the "North Korean dossier" in a non-confrontational manner, taking into account the necessity of a speedy peaceful resolution of the situation around the DPRK. Exerting sanctions pressure on Pyongyang or taking any other restrictive measures against the DPRK was not at issue. We are convinced that this question in the present circumstances should not be on the agenda of the UN Security Council. Russia, as is known, had assessed the referring of the North Korean question to the UN Security Council as a premature step. This stand was again reiterated by the Russian representative in the Security Council. We spoke in favor of the Council's further discussion of the "nuclear problem" of the DPRK being oriented towards facilitating its politico-diplomatic settlement, primarily through fostering a direct dialogue between the United States and the DPRK, an approach that is being widely shared in the Security Council of the United Nations. return to menu 3. Response to DPRK Statements on Its Possible Withdrawal from Armistice Agreement with U.S. Question: How does Moscow assess the statements by the DPRK on its possible withdrawal from the Armistice Agreement with the United States? Answer: The representatives of the DPRK have made a statement on its possible withdrawal from the Armistice Agreement in response to the reports about a possible sea blockade of the DPRK and the application of sanctions against it. As is known, the war in Korea ended in 1953 with the signing of the Armistice Agreement between the representatives of the command of the US-led United Nations troops and the representatives of the Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's Volunteers. This document is the mainstay of peace and stability on the peninsula; it determines the provisional border regime (DMZ) between North and South. The fact that this agreement still has not been replaced with any more substantial document is evidence of the instability of the situation in Korea and of the unsettledness of relations above all between the main conflicting parties - the DPRK and the USA. The escalation of bellicose rhetoric can hardly help towards resolving the aggravated situation on the Korean Peninsula, a point repeatedly made by the Russian side. In this connection we consider it still more imperative to find as soon as possible a negotiated solution of security problems in Korea, primarily via a direct dialogue between the DPRK and the United States. return to menu J. Links of Interest 1. Iran Agrees to Provide Early Design Information of Nuclear Facilities return to menu 2. Issues for the 108th Congress return to menu 3. Beyond Arms Control: How to Deal with Nuclear Weapons return to menu DISCLAIMER: Nuclear News is presented for informational purposes only. Views presented in any given article are those of the individual author or source and not of RANSAC. RANSAC takes no responsibility for the technical accuracy of information contained in any article presented in Nuclear News. RANSAC's Nuclear News is compiled two to three times weekly. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list or if you have questions/comments/concerns, please reply to news@216.119.87.134 |
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