A chemical spill in West Virginia’s Elk River has put 300,000 area residents at risk.
Federal officials are descending into the Charleston area to investigate the leak. The chemical release has poisoned the water supplies for nine counties.
Schools and restaurants were forced to close and residents ordered by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to not drink, bathe, cook or wash clothes using tap water because of the chemicals in the water.
The extent of the damage has not been able to be determined.
The chemical is a foaming agent used in the preparation of coal. The leak at Freedom Industries somehow broke through a containment area and rushed into the river. A spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said that no more than 5,000 gallons of the chemical escaped into the water.
Officials could not say how long the advisory against using the water will be in effect.
Soldiers from the USS Ronald Reagan quickly jumped in to help the victims of the 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan.
The troops were simply fulfilling their long held mission of helping the poor and unfortunate throughout the world.
Now, months later, some of the troops involved in the rescue are finding themselves being diagnosed with cancers that could be connected to radiation exposure. At least 51 Navy sailors have been found to have diseases likely connected to radiation.
Two soldiers are speaking out about the situation.
Quartermaster Maurice Enis said that a few months after their deployment to the coastline a few miles from the stricken Fukushima Nuclear Plant, he found strange lumps on his body. He was diagnosed with radiation poisoning and told his illness would get worse. His fiancée, Jamie Plym, said she suffered gynecological symptoms and hemorrhaging so bad she needed to be hospitalized.
The soldiers are now suing Tokyo Electric Power Company claiming the company did not warn the Navy that the tsunami caused a nuclear meltdown and sent huge amounts of contaminated water into the sea. The troops ended up within two miles of the plant while the company ordered an evacuation of towns as far as 12 miles from the plant for safety reasons.
The soldiers say they don’t blame the Navy which acted in good faith.
Smog in southwest China has become so bad that a hospital has been forced to open a clinic focused solely on dealing with smog related illness.
No. 7 People’s Hospital in Chengdu City, provincial capital of Sichuan Province, has reported already dealing with 100 patients suffering from smog related respiratory conditions.
Hospital officials say that previously victims of smog related illness would have to be treated in multiple clinics such as ear-nose-throat and pneumology resulting in multiple doctor visits. The new clinic will streamline treatment for patients and doctors.
Thick smog in many parts of China in the last few months have forced closures of schools, businesses and highways. Some days were so bad that officials told residents not to allow their children outside in the air.
The Chinese government is reportedly examining whether liquid nitrogen shot into the air can be used as a way to lower smog in major cities.
A floating island of debris at least three times the size of Great Britain is aimed for the California coastline.
The debris, all from the 2011 tsunami in Japan, is composed of destroyed homes and businesses, cars and boats. While some pieces of debris have washed up on the California shore starting in 2012, scientists expect this giant wave of debris to hit the coastline at the same time.
In addition to the debris, the giant island is bringing potentially destructive non-native ocean life and radioactive water.
Oceanographers say that marine life non-native to the U.S. west coast usually dies as it crosses the Pacific Ocean because of most shipping routes. However, the path of the debris has kept to water temperatures that would allow some species to survive. If the marine life is able to adapt to the California coast, scientists are concerned it could be devastating to the native life.
NOAA says that so far 1,600 debris reports have been conclusively linked to the tsunami.
Smog so thick it reduced visibility to half the length of a football field has essentially shut down the Chinese city of Harbin.
Schools were forced to close and the airport was shut down because of the thick, choking pollution.
State run media agency Xinhua reported that air quality was significantly worse than World Health Organization recommended limits. The PM2.5 level test, which measures particulates in the air smaller than 2.5 micrometeres, was more than 20 times higher than the WHO’s recommended daily concentration.
Earlier this year, air quality in the capital city of Beijing had also soared past dangerous levels, resulting in disruptions to air travel and causing health issues.
In Heilongjiang province, where Harbin is located, officials closed every highway. A red alert for thick smog was issued and remains in effect for the entire area.
The operator of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant admitted Thursday that a second tank containing highly contaminated water overflowed sending radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean.
The leak was the second in less than two months.
Japan’s government is closely monitoring Tokyo Electric Power Company amid worldwide concerns the company cannot handle the massive cleanup associated with the meltdowns of the Fukushima reactors.
TEPCO said that the leaked water contained 200,000 becquerels per liter of strontium 90. The legal limit for emission of strontium 90 is 30 becquerels per liter. The tank reportedly overflowed after a worker miscalculated how much the tank could hold and because the tank is tilted because of an uneven location.
TEPCO says the radiation is mostly confined to the harbor around the plant and should not impact other countries because the ocean would dilute the radiation. The company has also found elevated levels of radiation around other tanks suggestions a design flaw within the tanks.
Chinese government officials admitted the collection of at least 100 tons of poisoned fish from a river after what they term an industrial accident.
The recovery process is still ongoing and the amount of dead fish is likely to rise. Continue reading →
