Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Uranium Mines Dot Navajo Land, Neglected and Still Perilous
Excerpt from an article in
The New York Times
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Uranium Mines Dot Navajo Land, Neglected and Still Perilous
By LESLIE MACMILLAN
CAMERON, Ariz. — In the summer of 2010, a Navajo cattle rancher named Larry Gordy stumbled upon an abandoned uranium mine in the middle of his grazing land and figured he had better call in the feds. Engineers from the Environmental Protection Agency arrived a few months later, Geiger counters in hand, and found radioactivity levels that buried the needles on their equipment.
The abandoned mine here, about 60 miles east of the Grand Canyon, joins the list of hundreds of such sites identified across the 27,000 square miles of Navajo territory in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico that are the legacy of shoddy mining practices and federal neglect. From the 1940s through the 1980s, the mines supplied critical materials to the nation’s nuclear weapons program.
For years, unsuspecting Navajos inhaled radioactive dust and drank contaminated well water. Many of them became sick with cancer and other diseases.
The radioactivity at the former mine is said to measure one million counts per minute, translating to a human dose that scientists say can lead directly to malignant tumors and other serious health damage, according to Lee Greer, a biologist at La Sierra University in Riverside, Calif. Two days of exposure at the Cameron site would expose a person to more external radiation than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission considers safe for an entire year.
The E.P.A. filed a report on the rancher’s find early last year and pledged to continue its environmental review. But there are still no warning signs or fencing around the secluded and decaying site. Crushed beer cans and spent shell casings dot the ground, revealing that the old mine has become a sort of toxic playground.
Friday, March 30, 2012
EPA to Conduct First Five-Year Review of Hudson River PCB Cleanup
EPA to Conduct First Five-Year Review of Hudson River PCB Cleanup
Contact: Elias Rodriguez, 212-637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov
(Fort Edward, N.Y. – March 30, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently conducting a five-year review of the cleanup that has been conducted so far on the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site, which extends from Hudson Falls, New York, to New York City. The cleanup work is being performed in the Upper Hudson River north of Troy, New York. The purpose of this five-year review, which is legally required under the Superfund law within five years after the start of on-site construction, is to ensure that the cleanup is working as intended and continues to protect public health and the environment.
In conducting the five-year review, the EPA is reviewing site operation, maintenance and monitoring information. The plan for dredging underwent extensive review by the EPA and the General Electric Company at the end of the 2009 dredging program. The dredging was also reviewed by a panel of independent scientific experts at that time. The results of that evaluation will be summarized in this five-year review and will be supplemented with information gathered during the 2011 dredging season. The five-year review will also include a review of the 1984 cleanup plan for the areas of PCB-contaminated sediment upstream of the areas targeted for dredging. These areas, known as the remnant deposits, became exposed after the river water level dropped following removal of the Fort Edward Dam in 1973.
Between 1947 and 1977, an estimated 1.3 million pounds of PCBs were discharged into the river from two General Electric capacitor manufacturing plants located in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls, New York. The dredging of the Hudson River was designed to occur in two phases. The first phase of the dredging project was conducted in 2009 and the second and final phase began in June 2011. The cleanup is being conducted by General Electric Company under a legal agreement with the EPA.
Under the law, the ongoing five year review of the Hudson River dredging project must be completed by the end of April 2012. The results will be shared with the public and will be available on the EPA’s Hudson River website at www.epa.gov/hudson and in the local repositories established for the site: Edgewater Public Library, 49 Hudson Avenue, Edgewater, NJ 07020; Adriance Memorial Library, 93 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; NY State Library, Cultural Education Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230; Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801; Saratoga County EMC, 50 W. High Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020; EPA Hudson River Field Office, 421 Lower Main Street, Hudson Falls, NY 12839; and at the EPA Region 2 Superfund Records Center, 290 Broadway – 18th Floor, New York, NY 10007.
Project information can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/hudson and http://www.hudsondredgingdata.com.
For further information or to submit comments on the five year review of the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site, please contact Gary Klawinski (Remedial Project Manager) at klawinski.gary@epa.gov
or Larisa Romanowski (Community Involvement Coordinator) at romanowski.larisa@epa.gov. They can also be reached at:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Hudson River Field Office
421 Lower Main Street
Hudson Falls, NY 12839
(518) 747-4389 or (866) 615-6490 (Toll Free)
12-044 # # #
Local Meetings on Free Help for Superfund Communities: Apr 17, 18, 19
Interested in Superfund cleanup in the Coeur d’Alene Basin?
Would you like to better understand the cleanup process and provide input on community needs?
Free help is available. Come learn about independent educational and technical assistance for the community through Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC).
Everyone is invited.
The same material will be presented at each location.
WALLACE
Tuesday, April 17, 6 p.m.
Wallace Inn, Gold Room
100 Front Street
POST FALLS
Wednesday, April 18, 10 a.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers
408 N Spokane Street
KELLOGG
Thursday, April 19, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Silver Mountain Resort, Shoshone Room
610 Bunker Avenue
TASC is an EPA program that gives independent educational and technical assistance to communities affected by hazardous waste sites regulated by Superfund and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). TASC also helps communities address other environmental problems, like air and water issues. The program can help communities better understand and become involved in the cleanup. TASC representatives will explain the program, preview cleanup activities, and answer your questions. TASC representatives would like to identify people who wish to share input about what services they think could be useful to the community.
Would you like to better understand the cleanup process and provide input on community needs?
Free help is available. Come learn about independent educational and technical assistance for the community through Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC).
Everyone is invited.
The same material will be presented at each location.
WALLACE
Tuesday, April 17, 6 p.m.
Wallace Inn, Gold Room
100 Front Street
POST FALLS
Wednesday, April 18, 10 a.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers
408 N Spokane Street
KELLOGG
Thursday, April 19, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Silver Mountain Resort, Shoshone Room
610 Bunker Avenue
TASC is an EPA program that gives independent educational and technical assistance to communities affected by hazardous waste sites regulated by Superfund and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). TASC also helps communities address other environmental problems, like air and water issues. The program can help communities better understand and become involved in the cleanup. TASC representatives will explain the program, preview cleanup activities, and answer your questions. TASC representatives would like to identify people who wish to share input about what services they think could be useful to the community.
A SIGNUP SHEET WILL BE OFFERED FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO PROVIDE INPUT ON ASSISTANCE NEEDS.
For information, contact:
Alison Frost, Technical Assistance Specialist
(719) 256-6708, afrost@skeo.com
This presentation is funded in whole or partly through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Technical Assistance Services for Communities program. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the policies, actions, or positions of the U.S. EPA.
Congresswoman McCarthy and EPA to Tour Superfund Sites in New York
MEDIA ADVISORY
Congresswoman McCarthy and EPA to Tour Superfund Sites in New York
Contact: Elias Rodriguez, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov, 212-637-3664 (office) or 732-672-5520 (cell).
(New York, NY – March 30, 2012) On Monday, April 2, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy will tour two federal Superfund sites to mark the progress of cleanup work at the Old Roosevelt Field Contaminated Ground Water Area Site in Garden City and the Pasley Solvents and Chemicals Inc Site in Hempstead. Both Superfund Sites are on Long Island, N.Y. Superfund is the name given to the federal environmental program established to address the country’s most hazardous waste sites. Superfund was enacted in the wake of the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal in the 1970s. It allows the EPA to clean up such sites and to compel responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-lead cleanups.
What: Site tour with VIPs and subject matter experts. Photo ops and interviews
Who: Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator
Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy
Donald T.Brudie, Mayor of the Village of Garden City
Wayne J. Hall, Sr., Mayor of the Village of Hempstead
When/Where:
11:00 a.m, Monday, April 2, 2012.
Tour begins at the Old Roosevelt Field Water Treatment Plant, Village of Garden City – located in the back of the Roosevelt Field Mall along the Clinton Rd. side of the property. The driveway for the Old Roosevelt Field Superfund Site is directly across the street from (near) 250 Clinton Road. See link: http://g.co/maps/6abe4.
From NYC * Take Long Island Expressway to Exit 39 for the Northern State Parkway. * Take Northern State Parkway approximately 2 miles south to Exit 31 that merges onto Glen Cove Road. * Take Glen Cove Road/Clinton Ave. approximately 1.5 miles south (note: Glen Cove Road changes to Clinton Ave. as you go through intersection with Old Country Road). * After intersection proceed about ½ mile and enter a driveway on the left just before Vanderbilt Court. * Proceed down driveway passing through chain link fence gate to the water treatment plant where the tour will start.
12-043 # # #
Thursday, March 29, 2012
City of Wapato’s sewage treatment plant cited for exceeding ammonia levels and operating without a water discharge permit
City of Wapato’s sewage treatment plant cited for exceeding ammonia levels and operating without a water discharge permit
Contact: Derek Schruhl, EPA NPDES Compliance Unit, 206-553-1146, schruhl.derek@epa.gov; Tony Brown, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov
(Seattle—March 29, 2012) The City of Wapato, Washington will pay a fine for excess pollution discharges from its municipal sewage treatment facility in violation of its Clean Water Act permit, according to an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The City’s wastewater treatment facility provides secondary treatment of wastewater prior to discharge to the Yakima River. The violations took place on Yakama tribal land, but the facility is not tribally-owned.
The treatment facility exceeded levels of ammonia in its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit more than 431 times between 2006-2010. Ammonia constituted the majority of the violations. The Facility also discharged without permit between June 2010 and September 2011. The City will pay a fine of $57,000.
“Pollutant discharge limits safeguard our waterways against environmental harm,” said Kimberly Ogle, NPDES Unit Manager at EPA’s Seattle office. “Facilities have a responsibility to stick to approved levels. The City of Wapato is working with EPA to come into compliance.”
Ammonia occurs naturally and is also produced by human activity. Exposure to high levels of ammonia can cause irritation and serious burns on the skin and in the mouth, throat, lungs, and eyes. Ammonia and heavy metals like zinc and copper, even in small amounts, can be highly toxic to aquatic organisms, including fish.
(Seattle—March 29, 2012) The City of Wapato, Washington will pay a fine for excess pollution discharges from its municipal sewage treatment facility in violation of its Clean Water Act permit, according to an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The City’s wastewater treatment facility provides secondary treatment of wastewater prior to discharge to the Yakima River. The violations took place on Yakama tribal land, but the facility is not tribally-owned.
The treatment facility exceeded levels of ammonia in its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit more than 431 times between 2006-2010. Ammonia constituted the majority of the violations. The Facility also discharged without permit between June 2010 and September 2011. The City will pay a fine of $57,000.
“Pollutant discharge limits safeguard our waterways against environmental harm,” said Kimberly Ogle, NPDES Unit Manager at EPA’s Seattle office. “Facilities have a responsibility to stick to approved levels. The City of Wapato is working with EPA to come into compliance.”
Ammonia occurs naturally and is also produced by human activity. Exposure to high levels of ammonia can cause irritation and serious burns on the skin and in the mouth, throat, lungs, and eyes. Ammonia and heavy metals like zinc and copper, even in small amounts, can be highly toxic to aquatic organisms, including fish.
For more information about NPDES, visit: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/
HITACHI POWER SYSTEMS AMERICA, LTD. SIGNS ENHANCED ALL-DRY SCRUBBER TECHNOLOGY LICENSE AGREEMENT
BASKING RIDGE, NJ, March 28, 2012 – Hitachi Power Systems America, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., today announced that it has signed a license agreement with Solios Environnement Inc. to design and supply Enhanced All-Dry (EAD) Scrubber technology, jointly developed with Solios Environnement Inc, for the global electric utility market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The EAD Scrubber technology is the original circulating semi-dry scrubber technology developed by Solios in the 1980s that has been widely applied in industrial sectors. It effectively removes SO2 as well as SO3, HCl, mercury and particulate matter from flue gas. Reactions occur in an entrained-flow, open vertical absorber which is preferred over more complex fluidized bed processes. By separating the reagent humidification and sulfur capture steps, this enhanced system is simple and reliable. Hitachi is applying the EAD Scrubber technology with a modular approach that allows unlimited scrubber capacity, virtually unlimited turndown, and enhanced system layout flexibility. EAD Scrubber technology has the additional advantages of low capital cost, low water consumption and dry byproducts, avoiding costly waste water treatment.
http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/120329.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)