Department of Energy Press Release
Contact: Rich Buel, DOE, Richard.Buel@rl.doe.gov, (509) 376-3375 March 1, 2012
Registration Date Set for 2012 Hanford Site Wide Tours
RICHLAND, Wash. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will open online registration on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, for its popular tours of the Hanford Site.
Online registration opens at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday morning, March 6, 2012. Visit the Public Tour link on www.hanford.gov or http://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/HanfordSiteTours.
Rich Buel, DOE tour coordinator said, “We’re excited to offer a tour stop at the Plutonium Finishing Plant this year, and a return visit to the Waste Treatment Plant. When you add those two stops to a schedule that already features tours and briefings at the B Reactor National Historic Landmark, the Cold Test Facility, and the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, it allows us to capture the unique history of our site and what the future holds for Hanford.”
Sunday, March 4, 2012
News Release from EPA Region 2 - Universal Oil Superfund Site
EPA Proposes $16.4 Million Action to Remove Pollution from Universal Oil Products Superfund Site in
East Rutherford, N.J.
EPA to Hold Public Meeting on March 6 to Discuss Proposed Plan
(New York, N.Y. – March 1, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a plan to clean up contaminated sediment, soil and debris in streams and in an area near lagoons in which industrial wastewater was stored at the Universal Oil Products Superfund site in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The proposed cleanup plan will eliminate the threat of contaminants spreading off the site through the streams that carry water into Berry’s Creek, located on the eastern border of the site. The EPA is simultaneously overseeing a comprehensive study of the site to determine what other measures may be necessary to address the contamination.
The EPA is encouraging the public to comment on the plan through March 30, 2012 and will hold a public meeting on March 6, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. at the East Rutherford Memorial Library, 143 Boiling Springs Avenue, East Rutherford, New Jersey. The plan is available at the library and on line at http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/universaloil/.
"This is a heavily contaminated site which includes mercury, PCBs and other pollutants that could potentially spread off the site by streams. EPA is taking action to protect public health and, the environment and wildlife. This is a complex, toxic site. I urge the public to become informed and involved in this important issue," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck.
"This is a heavily contaminated site which includes mercury, PCBs and other pollutants that could potentially spread off the site by streams. EPA is taking action to protect public health and, the environment and wildlife. This is a complex, toxic site. I urge the public to become informed and involved in this important issue," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck.
Volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls and metals from the former chemical laboratory and recovery facility have contaminated soil, ground water, sediment and surface water. Mercury, PCBs and other chemicals impact Berry’s Creek as they move to and from the site through the tidal action of the creek. Fish and crabs in Berry's Creek and adjacent water bodies are contaminated with chemicals at levels that exceed U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines for human consumption.
PCBs can cause cancer in humans, as well as a variety of other adverse health effects on the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems. Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system of people of all ages. Birds and mammals that eat fish are also affected by mercury and PCBs in contaminated water and sediment, and can be harmful to the health of people who eat them.
Beginning in 1932, Trubeck Laboratories operated an aroma chemicals laboratory and later a solvent recovery operation at the site. Universal Oil Products acquired the property and facilities in 1960. Operations at the facility ended in 1979 and the buildings were demolished in 1980. In 1999, Honeywell acquired the site through a merger.
The Universal Oil Products site is approximately 74 acres, which are divided into uplands and stream areas. The uplands, located in the northwest corner of the site, are man-made lands and municipal trash placed there years ago on top of native soils and peat. Cleanup work there has been completed, including the excavation of contaminated soil. Honeywell is currently conducting a long-term study of the nature and extent of contamination in and around streams under a legal agreement with the EPA. Sampling has shown that contamination in the vicinity of lagoons where wastewater was once stored is substantially higher than the rest of the site and that contamination has the potential to move into other areas.
Under the proposed cleanup plan about 27,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment, soil and debris from the area in and around the previous wastewater lagoon and adjacent stream channels will be excavated, dewatered and taken off site for disposal. A tide gate will be installed at Murray Hill Parkway and water will be taken out of the lagoon and channels to allow for dry excavation down to the natural clay layer that is present throughout most of the site. Soil will be added to provide cover and allow vegetation to grow to provide habitat for wildlife. The estimated cost of this proposed cleanup is $16.4 million. Honeywell has agreed to pay for and perform the cleanup work.
A document, called an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis, which evaluates the various cleanup options considered in developing the proposed cleanup plan is available at the East Rutherford Memorial Library and on the website http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/universaloil/. The EPA encourages the public to submit comments to the EPA. The EPA is accepting public comment on the proposed cleanup until March 30, 2012. Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:
Doug Tomchuk, Remedial Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway, 19th Floor
New York, New York 10007-1866
Email: tomchuk.doug@epa.gov
Doug Tomchuk, Remedial Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway, 19th Floor
New York, New York 10007-1866
Email: tomchuk.doug@epa.gov
The EPA has a website to inform the community about the site at: http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/universaloil.
Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.
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Friday, March 2, 2012
Viet Nam's Nuclear Dreams
Excerpt from an article in
The New York Times
Friday, March 02, 2012
Vietnam’s Nuclear Dreams Blossom Despite Doubts
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
HANOI, Vietnam — Inside an unheated classroom at the Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology here about 20 young government technicians from Vietnam’s incipient nuclear power industry kept on their winter jackets on the first morning of a 10-day workshop on radiation.
The workshop, sponsored by the semigovernmental Japan Atomic Energy Agency, started with Radiation Physics 101. The students then collected radiation samples with the help of Japanese specialists and analyzed them in a lab built by Japan.
“Nuclear power is important for Vietnam’s energy security, but, like fire, it has two sides,” said one of the students, Nguyen Xuan Thuy, 27. “We have to learn how to take advantage of its good side.”
As Vietnam prepares to begin one of the world’s most ambitious nuclear power programs, it is scrambling to raise from scratch a field of experts needed to operate and regulate nuclear power plants. The government, which is beefing up nuclear engineering programs at its universities and sending increasing numbers of young technicians abroad, says Vietnam will have enough qualified experts to safely manage an industry that is scheduled to grow from one nuclear reactor in 2020 to 10 reactors by 2030.
But some Vietnamese and foreign experts said that was too little time to establish a credible regulatory body, especially in a country with widespread corruption, poor safety standards and a lack of transparency. They said the overly ambitious timetable could lead to the kind of weak regulation, as well as collusive ties between regulators and operators, that contributed to the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan last year.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
News Release from EPA Region 10 - FIFRA
EPA ensures Oregon distributor properly labels pesticides
Contact Info: Chad Schulze, EPA FIFRA Program, 206-553-0505, schulze.chad@epa.gov
Tony Brown, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov
Tony Brown, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov
(Seattle – March 1, 2012) Wilbur-Ellis Company, an international distributor of agricultural products located in Hood River, Oregon violated federal pesticide laws by repeatedly omitting important manufacturing information on product labels, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The settlement follows an Oregon Department of Agriculture inspection of Wilbur-Ellis’s facility in 2010. Inspectors found that Wilbur-Ellis sold and distributed mislabeled “Supreme Oil,” an insecticidal spray, 37 separate times. The EPA immediately issued a Stop-Sale Order for the product and helped bring the company into compliance.
The settlement follows an Oregon Department of Agriculture inspection of Wilbur-Ellis’s facility in 2010. Inspectors found that Wilbur-Ellis sold and distributed mislabeled “Supreme Oil,” an insecticidal spray, 37 separate times. The EPA immediately issued a Stop-Sale Order for the product and helped bring the company into compliance.
According to Scott Downey, manager of the EPA's pesticide unit in Seattle, proper labeling of pesticides is key to protecting people’s health and the environment.
“Sellers and distributors of pesticides know that proper labeling is the law.” Downey said. “These laws help ensure that agencies can track problem pesticides back to the producer when needed to protect public safety.”
“Sellers and distributors of pesticides know that proper labeling is the law.” Downey said. “These laws help ensure that agencies can track problem pesticides back to the producer when needed to protect public safety.”
Wilbur-Ellis has had similar violations of the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in the past. The company has agreed to pay a $50,320 fine for the violations and has committed to revising its labeling practices.
Supreme Oil is a plant-based insecticidal spray that controls a wide variety of insect pests on fruits and vegetables.
News Release from EPA - Armstrong Envtl. Svc.
Armstrong Environmental Services to Pay $35,000 Penalty for Clean Water Act Violations at Lancaster, Pa. Facility
(PHILADELPHIA – March 1, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement with Armstrong Environmental Services (AES) over alleged Clean Water Act violations at the company’s waste processing and disposal facility in Lancaster, Pa. AES agreed to pay a $35,000 penalty for allegedly exceeding permit limits when discharging industrial wastewater pollutants to the City of Lancaster Wastewater Treatment Plant in Lancaster County, Pa. The settlement also requires the company take actions to minimize the likelihood of future violations.
EPA’s complaint alleged AES exceeded its pretreatment permit discharge limits for pollutants oil and grease, pH and copper for a period of five-years. As part of the settlement, AES did not admit liability for the alleged violations, but has certified that it is now in compliance with applicable Clean Water Act requirements.
The Clean Water Act requires companies discharging pollutants to publicly owned wastewater treatment works (POTWs) to obtain a permit from the POTW limiting the amount of pollution that may be discharged to the plant. This usually requires some type of pretreatment by the discharging facility.
Pretreatment permit limits for pollutants are established in order to prevent impairment of waterways, either as a result of pollutants passing through the POTW -- or interference with the functioning of the treatment plant.
For more information about pretreatment requirements visit:
News Release from EPA Region 7 - CAFOs
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7
901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Meeting Scheduled for March 13 in West Point, Neb.
Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, (913) 551-7557, lancaster.kris@epa.gov
Environmental News
NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY
(Kansas City, Kan., March 1, 2012) - EPA Region 7 representatives will host a public informational meeting for livestock producers about the Agency’s inspection program for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on Tuesday, March 13, in West Point, Neb. EPA Region 7’s inspections are part of an increased national emphasis on ending harmful discharges of pollutants from CAFOs into rivers and streams.
“It is important for EPA Region 7 staff to be out in the countryside so we can educate communities about EPA’s job and how inspections support the Agency’s duties," EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks said. “That’s why outreach efforts like this one are so important in obtaining the overall goal of protecting human health and water quality.”
Topics at the meeting include selection of CAFOs for inspection, aerial overflights to assess CAFOs, winter feeding areas, manure stockpiling and nutrient management plans. There will be an opportunity for attendees to interact with EPA officials during a question-and-answer session led by Larry Howard, of the University of Nebraska Lincoln-Extension.
WHAT: Meeting about EPA’s inspection program for CAFOs
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 13, 2012
WHERE: Nielsen Community Center, 200 Anna Stalp Avenue, West Point, Neb., 68788
WHO: EPA Region 7 representatives attending this event will include Josh Svaty, senior adviser to the regional administrator; Stephen Pollard, CAFO compliance and enforcement coordinator; and Trevor Urban, senior CAFO inspector.
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Shell Asks Court's Opinion
Excerpt from an article in
The New York Times
Thursday, March 01, 2012
To Avoid a Suit, Shell Asks Court’s Opinion
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
HOUSTON — In an attempt to avoid a last-minute challenge from environmental groups that could delay its plans to begin drilling for oil this summer off the coast of Alaska, Shell asked a federal court on Wednesday to review its Alaska Arctic oil spill response plan and decide whether it complied with the law’s requirements.
Shell received tentative approval from the Interior Department two weeks ago for its spill response plan, a crucial step toward clearing the way for the oil company to begin drilling in the Chukchi Sea this year. Several more regulatory barriers remain, but the company hopes it can get past all the hurdles and expected appeals in the next few months, while the narrow window for summer drilling in ice-free waters remains open.
“This pre-emptive action is an attempt to avoid a legal challenge on the eve of operations,” said Bill Tanner, a Shell spokesman. “We are anticipating that they were going to sue us.”
In a statement, Shell said it was filing the request for a declaratory judgment against 13 environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Sierra Club, which have been resisting Shell’s drilling plans for five years.
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