"Probably one out of every five days I wake up in a cold sweat thinking Y2K
is much bigger than we think, and then the other four days I think maybe we
are on top of it. Everything is so interconnected, it's very hard to know
with any precision that we have got it fixed."
There is wide-ranging uncertainty about the degree to which nuclear power facilities and nuclear arsenals will be impacted by the erroneous information generated by computer systems at the turn of the year (the Y2K problem). The Nuclear Y2K Symposium will discuss potential and predicted computer problems involving both nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons.
It seeks to educate elected officials, the public and the media on the integrity of nuclear safety systems.
Unconfirmed presentations are [bracketed]
MORNING SESSION (9:00 - 1:00)
- OVERVIEW OF Y2K AS A MANAGERIAL AND TECHNICAL PROBLEM
Introduction: Helen Caldicott, President, STAR
Moderator: Representative Ed Markey
Speaker: Bill Ulrich (President, Political Strategy Group, Inc.)
- THE NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY: THE CONSEQUENCES OF COMPUTER-GENERATED FAILURES FOR SAFETY AND BACK-UP SYSTEMS
Speakers: David Lochbaum Union of Concerned Scientists
Michio Kaku, Professor of Theoretical Physics, CUNY
Rick Cowles, President, CS America
Paul Gunter, Nuclear Information and Resource Service
[Presenter to be announced: Nuclear Regulatory Commission]
Panel: Michael Murphy: Nuclear Engineer, Pennsylvania Dept. of Enviro Protection
Judith Johnsrud, Director, Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power
LUNCH BREAK (1:00-2:00)
AFTERNOON SESSION (2:00 - 5:30)
- Y2K AND NUCLEAR ARSENALS: WEAPONS AND OPERATIONS
Moderator: Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate
Speakers:
Tom Harkin (Introductory Remarks)
Ted Taylor, Visiting Fellow, Princeton University Center, Energy and Enviro Studies
Bruce Blair, Brookings Institution
Michael Kraig, British American Security Information Council
Stephen Young, British American Security Information Council
[Presenter to be announced, Department of Defense]
- QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION PERIOD: 5:00-5:30
For More Information, Contact: Scott Cullen, Counsel
STAR (Standing for Truth About Radiation)
P.O. Box 4206, East Hampton, NY 11937
(516) 324-0655 - fax: 516 324-2203 - scott@noradiation.org