I really wouldn't know myself, I only work for the company you mentioned and will most likely be doing so this summer in the UK working on the document with the committee charged with the responsibilty of maintaining it.
As I stated, it will not carry the vote in the ISO. The ISO shelved a Health & Safety standard a couple of years ago because it did not generate enough interest amongst it's members (the USA's ANSI being one of the them...ANSI has developed it's own and will not support any competition). It takes 75% of the ISO to approve a standard, and it is currently opposed.
But then again, what would I know?
What I will do though is ask the specific individual responsible for 18001 in our organization if there is any truth to the rumor and get back to you.