Though we try to keep a very positive focus here, PlanetSave isn’t just a blog about the wonders of the natural world and the glory of Mankind’s inventions. It also offers knowledge and a caution about our failures as individuals and as a species. We’ve all made mistakes before, big and small. By acknowledging anthropogenic
NHK World reports the beginning of Fukushima Reactor Unit 4 fuel rod transfer. (Screenshot of NHK broadcast, video released by TEPCO.) The ticklish operations involved in decommissioning Tokyo Electric’s ruined nuclear power plant at Fukushima began on Monday. Workers at the plant began removing unused nuclear fuel from the fourth-floor storage pool at the damaged
Here’s what the Fukushima I power nuclear plant complex looked like prior to the natural disasters and explosions. (Source: ad-hoc-news.de.) Before March 2011, if you heard the words “Fukushima Daiichi,” you might wonder if someone had concocted a new sushi roll. Now most of us know about the nuclear accident cascade following Japan’s massive Tōhoku
Between 2005 and 2009, oil and natural gas companies operating in 14 states injected hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic and/or carcinogenic chemical into natural gas wells, according to a recent investigation conducted by three House Democrats* and made public on Saturday.
With all the focus placed on the Japanese radiation leak as well as the toxic plume of radioactive particles (possibly containing uranium and plutonium) heading for the United States, another potential disaster is receiving virtually no attention.
(Tri Cities, Washington) During the Cold War, liquid waste containing radioactive salts was routinely discharged into the ground near the central part of the old Hanford Nuclear Facility, in the State Washington. The salts tended to attract various animals, including rabbits. Prior to 1969, various animal interlopers had spread radioactivity through their droppings over a
[UPDATED: Sept. 27, 2013; see addendum at bottom] In the spirit of both Halloween and Environmental Awareness, I hereby offer thirteen environmental horror stories of anthropogenic origin. I have chosen to narrow my sample field to the post World War II time period. I have also excluded nuclear weapons tests and chemical weapons usage (such
[social_buttons] Desert spreads endlessly beyond the horizon, where crystalline azure meets rusted bronze. This is red rock country. Moab, Utah is known for its breathtaking scenery. Red rock arches, labyrinth-like canyons, the clever Colorado River. This paradise permeates the soul and the soil. But something else sleeps in the soil: uranium tailings. Uranium was discovered
Yucca Mountain, “Yes”; transport waste through my state?, “No”; what Grand Canyon? It’s hard to tell if Senator McCain’s age is catching up with his memory, or if he’s just trying to ride a lot of fences when it comes to nuclear power. The Sierra Club sent out a release today, pointing out the Senator’s
My Issues and Support of Nuclear Power In the past year or so I’ve been writing articles in opposition to the proliferation of nuclear power stations, not only in the United States, but in the world. The responses have been enlightening, intelligent, pedestrian and downright rude. In each case, the respondents seem to have either
Putting an Old Dog to Rest…Hopefully For years, there have been rumors, and concerns, about playground areas at the Grand Canyon School District, located inside the park, being contaminated with radioactive soil from old uranium mines in the area. I talked with park Public Affairs Officer Maureen Oltrogge, and she said that an investigation is
It All Depends On Who You Ask Las Vegas Water Offical Warns Radioactive Levels Rising Sunday’s news was a bit disconcerting, when I read a small story at Tri-State Online. Pat Mulroy, head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority was quoted as saying measurable quantities of uranium are showing up in Colorado River water, something
April 26 marks the 22nd anniversary of the 1986 nuclear accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Slavutych, Ukraine. That one incident resulted in hundreds and possibly thousands of deaths, lingering health issues, radioactive contamination of a wide swath of land, property losses and on-going clean-up costs totaling billions of dollars.The Ukranian-American Environmental Association
