Week of January 23rd

Obama Gives Green Light to New Mercury Rules
Forbes
Besides his unwavering support for clean energy, he alluded to the administration's new mercury rule. Regarding mercury, the nation's coal-fired power plants emit half of all those emissions that are responsible for causing heart attacks, birth defects ...

EPA Administrator to Address EUEC 2012 on Mercury Standards Affecting 1400 ...
PR Web (press release)
This year she will discuss the newly issued mercury standards as a follow up to her presentation last year," said Dr. Prabhu Dayal, EUEC Chairman Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for the US Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Air and...

Mercury's Harmful Reach Has Grown, Study Suggests
New York Times
But they should have an important side benefit, according to a study being released on Tuesday: protecting a broad array of wildlife that has been harmed by mercuryemissions. Songbirds and bats suffer some of the same types of neurological disorders...

News Source on Potential Environmental Damage From the Italian Shipwreck
Newswise (press release)
Bouwer is director of a Hazardous Substances Research Center that covers EPA Regions I, II, and III, and also directs the Center for Contaminant Transport, Fate, and Remediation, with initial funding from Honeywell International and the Maryland ...

Gas Plus ordered to clean up spill
Calgary Herald
Gas Plus has been ordered to begin immediate excavation of its Bowness site to remediate a 9000-litre gasoline spill. Alberta Environment and Water Minister Diana McQueen issued a ministerial order Thursday, the latest move in a saga that has dragged ...

90000-gallon fuel leak at SEAT was undetected for years, officials say
TheDay.com
Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the DOT, said Friday the agency's primary objective is to ensure that a leak does not happen again and that environmental remediation in the area is completed. "From our perspective, the loss of potentially 90000 gallons ...

Fairfield officials want lead, chromium cleanups of Mill River coordinated
Ct Post
The Mill River, adjacent to the former Exide battery plant on Post Road in Fairfied, will be dredged again to remove lead that seeped in the river from the factory, as well as chromium deposited in the river by operations at Superior Plating on the ...

RG&E files plan to demolish Russell Station in Greece
Greece Post
RG&E officials say they have discussed the demolition and remediation plans with Town of Greece officials and a letter is being mailed to nearby residents. Environmental remediation will include the removal of asbestos and lead-based paint from the ...

Facility sued over hazardous waste
News Chief
The inspection found chromium concentrations of as high as 456 parts per million in the soil on the site. According to the suit, DEP officials consider 38 parts per million a target cleanup goal.Chromium exposure can cause health effects ranging from ...

Contaminants found at Valmont Butte
Boulder Weekly
Chromium: Allergic dermatitis and a certain form of chromium is under review by the EPA as a possible carcinogen. Workers with prolonged exposure to chromium have developed nasal irritation, including ulcers and perforation of the nasal septum, ...

Week of January 16th

Miner takes action on contaminated water
ABC Online
CEO Visko Sulicich says the contamination itself is in the soil, not the water running off the lease. "The Eyre Street dam is not on our lease and any contaminated soil in that dam is not on our lease," he said. "But we've agreed to help and try to ...

Nearly 40 people affected by chlorine leak - Germany
The Voice of Russia
The incident occurred on Tuesday, when a chemical reaction resulted in a cloud of chlorine. The substance which affects the respiratory tract quickly spread through the premises. About 300 people were evacuated. After decontamination of the building, ...

Toxics from Suncor refinery spill still seeping into water; Colorado vows to ...
Denver Post
State regulators favor construction of underground clay walls at the creek and the refinery to try to block toxic material before it spreads; vapor-extraction systems to remove it from soil; and pumping of contaminated groundwater — all aimed at ...

Orica reports mercury leak from Sydney site
ABC Online
Embattled chemical company Orica has reported a leak of mercury vapour from a facility in Sydney's south-east. Orica only informed the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) yesterday afternoon of the escape in December from a stack at its Car Park ...

Chinese Villagers Suffer from Cancer Due to Chromium Pollution
NTDTV
But Wu Shuliang suspects chromium dumping from a nearby factory is the cause of his son's illness. "When he was sick, we didn't know what it was… Our plot of farmland was just next to thechromium slag. The factory even dug a drain next to our land ...

Cleanup set in Akron
Lancaster Newspapers
By AD CRABLE The state is proposing a cleanup of contaminated soil and groundwater at the Berkley Products Co. plant on the edge of Akron, five years after a federal Superfund cleanup was completed at a waste site owned by the same company in West ...

Rain adds to winter chill, mercury dips
Times of India
GUWAHATI: The state has been experiencing a severe chill with the mercury dropping for the last few days. Foggy weather prevailed across the state on Thursday. Drizzles heightened the cold. There were also slight downpours in the city with the maximum ...

Global Mining Industry Shifts Gears to Focus on Sustainable Development ...
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Environmental remediation, securing resource supply, energy conservation and protection of natural mineral reserves form the core areas of interest in today's intensely competitive mining environment. Follow us on LinkedIn - Globalization and ...

Well water may be contaminated after flooding
Lebanon Express
Heavy rains, flood water and extensive standing water, Lucas said, can bring contaminants from the surface quickly down into the well. Normally, groundwater from wells has moved slowly through the soil, naturally filtering and breaking down any ...

Group warns: 14 lucky charms sold in Chinatown have toxic metals
GMA News
Of the 30 samples, 14 products were found to contain arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury above levels of concern. Arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury belong to the World Health Organization's “Ten Chemicals of Major Public Health Concern. ...

Week of January 9th
Long-term oil leak cleanup starts
Business Mirror
(FPIC) started its long-term environmental remediation in Barangay Bangkal, Makati City, with the deployment of the Multi-Phase Extraction (MPE) System in the area on Saturday. The MPE system will be used for the recovery and treatment of petroleum ...

Grounded cargo ship leaks more oil off New Zealand coast
CNN Wire Staff
The stern of a cargo ship that ran aground last year on a reef off the coast of New Zealand has slipped further underwater, officials said Tuesday, spewing nearly 10 more tons of oil into the sea. Some 21 containers holding a hazardous metal called cryolite ..

EPA mercury rules essential for health
Central Florida Future
Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would be determined to reduce the harmful amounts of mercury, arsenic and air toxins from power plant pollution. These regulations on mercury pollution are essential, as they will help ...

Fertiliser company says another ammonium plant needed to address explosives demand
ABC Online
In August last year the toxic chemical hexavalent chromium leaked from Orica's Kooragang Island plant and rained down on Stockton 800 metres away. Some residents reported seeing a toxic plume wafting across the Hunter River. The State Government says ...

Badger water plan under review
Baraboo News Republic
"In addition, sources or potential sources of groundwater contamination have been removed through soil excavation, vapor extraction and biological (on site) treatment," Kenney said. "Natural breakdown of the compounds in groundwater has also been ...

Vietnam hopes to clear UXOs in 100 years
Thanh Nien Daily
More than one fifth of Vietnam's total area is contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) and it would take 300 years to complete decontamination at the current pace, an official said. However, concerned authorities are looking to reduce the period to ...

Water agency asks Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for more background...
San Bernardino Sun
HINKLEY - The water agency supervising the clean-up of chromium 6 groundwater contamination here has asked Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to provide more scientific details on the study it did to determine the naturally occurring background level. ...

Soil decontamination to cost NIS 9b
Globes
"The cost of decontaminating soil over one or two decades is NIS 9 billion. Our goal is not to undermine the Israeli production market and economy, and it never will be. We think that a sustainable industry operates with social and environmental ...

EPA testing area for contamination
Fremont News Messenger
... in eastern Sandusky County for possible contamination in another effort to find out what might have caused a cancer cluster there. This year, EPA workers will collect soil, air and water samples at 14 sites, including industrial sites and dumps. ...

Temps at root of chromium water spill
Oak Ridger
By Donna Smith | Cold weather may have been behind a recent spill of chromium-contaminated water at the East Tennessee Technology Park. The spill is not believed to have resulted in a negative environmental impact, ...

Contamination answers taking entirely too long
My West Texas
We have known that the wheels of government turn slow, but in the case of the chromium contamination case here in Midland County, we are stunned at just how slow those wheels can be. It has now been more than 2 1/2 years since chromium was confirmed at ...

Industrial site contaminated by asbestos being...
The Times Herald
An official certification of the asbestos remediation work at the site at 500 and 600 E. Washington St. by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is expected by March 31, 2013, said Jerry Nugent, the executive director of the Montgomery ...

Building on “toxic land”
chinadialogue
If you take your children out for a walk every day, the impact will increase,” said Gao Shengda, executive editor at HJXF.net, a website focused on environmental remediation in China. The Yangtze Pearl development had been under construction for over a ...

Week of January 2nd
1000 gallons of chromium-contaminated water spilled at Oak Ridge facility
Knoxville News Sentinel
By Frank Munger OAK RIDGE — About 1000 gallons of chromium-contaminated water overflowed a new treatment facility Wednesday at the government's East Tennessee Technology Park, but a contractor spokesman said there was not expected to be any ...

Two riverbank sections contaminated
Flathead Publishing Group
PacifiCorp, in 2003, completed voluntary cleanup of the contaminated soil in the yard adjacent to the power plant in downtown Bigfork. In 2009, the DEQ and the EPA were concerned that contamination may have reached the Swan River from the yard and ...

Ground contaminated under heritage buildings
London Community News
By Sean Meyer/London Community News A pair of heritage properties on Waterloo Street may be sitting on contaminated soil, but after the cleanup is finished they will be up for sale. The buildings, formerly owned by Murphy and Murphy Architects, ..

Putnam planning to demolish vacant mill
Norwich Bulletin
By EMILY GROVES What it is: The town of Putnam is moving forward with plans for environmental remediation and demolition at the former Putnam Foundry. Delpha Very, director of economic and community development for the town, said she held a conference ...

Delco senators push for environmental clean-up for new use of commercial sites
Newsworks.org
Dominic Pileggi, R-9, and Ted Erickson, R-26, plan to introduce a bill requiring some commercial property owners to conduct environmental remediation, according to the Delaware County Daily Times. If the use of a site changes significantly — like a ...

After Oil Spill, Don't Shortchange Gulf
Care2.com (blog)
The bill would establish a regional environmental remediation trust fund; support the ailing travel, tourism and seafood industries; and create a federal-state council to implement a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for the coast. ...

ASTM launches new standard specification for chromium and chromium nickel for ...
SteelGuru
ASTM has announced new standard specification for chromium and chromium nickel stainless steel plate, sheet, and strip for pressure vessels and for general applications. This specification covers chromium, chromium nickel, and chromium manganese nickel ...

Industrial clean up
Newcastle Herald
At Boolaroo, an estimated $50 million has been spent on soil decontamination and lead abatement since the Pasminco lead and zinc smelter closed in 2003. Both industries left behind a cocktail of contaminants. Where the materials themselves were not ...

Controversial ammonia plant open
ABC Online
Hexavalent chromium leaked from the Kooragang Island plant creating a yellow rain. After a further series of leaks from other Orica plants in the past few months, the state Premier Barry O'Farrell says he has very little faith in the company. ...

New Illinois laws for 2012 top 200
Rockford Register Star
The new law is intended to protect groundwater from some of the potentially hazardous metals in electronics and to make sure valuable metals — which include ...