The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved the design of a new kind of reactor, known as a small modular reactor (SMR). The design, from the Portland, Ore.–based company NuScale Power, is intended to speed construction, lower cost and improve safety over traditional nuclear reactors, which are typically many times larger. Supporters of SMRs have long touted them as a way to help revive the country’s nuclear industry and widen the spread of low-carbon electricity. But some experts have expressed concerns over the potential expense and remaining safety issues that the industry would have to address before any such reactors are actually built.
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Photo credit: Malte Mueller Getty Images
Day: October 26, 2020
A tank collapse at Lima’s INEOS plant shook parts of the region Sunday night, but authorities assured residents there was no threat to the community.
The Shawnee Township Fire Department responded to INEOS at 1900 Fort Amanda Road, Lima, at 7:59 p.m. Sunday, according to John Norris, platoon chief and public information officer for the Shawnee Township Fire Department. They found a tank had collapsed. There were no injuries, and crews remained on scene for several hours.
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The state of Michigan is expected to pay about $600 million to victims of the Flint water crisis, according to two people with knowledge of a major settlement that is set to be announced this week.
The money would largely be designated for children in Flint who were poisoned by lead-tainted tap water after officials changed the city’s water supply six years ago, setting off a crisis that drew national attention and remains a worry for many residents. Read more.
Photo by Brittany Greeson for The New York Times
By: Sharon Franklin
Children play near an oil refinery in Los Angeles, California. Photo Credit: Etienne Laurent / EPA
Dr. Jake M. Robinson PhD Researcher, Department of Landscape, University of Sheffiel, South Yorkshire, England recently published an article in The Conversation entitled “How Racism and Classism Affect Natural Ecosystems”.
In the article, Dr. Robinson cited a recent publication in Science Magazine by Christopher J. Schell of the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, “The Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Systemic Racism In Urban Environments” , which reports the conscious and unconscious systemic biases and stereotypes contribute to shaping institutional policies that drive and exacerbate racist and classist structures in urban systems (e.g., law enforcement, residential segregation, and gentrification).
Dr. Schell explained the urban ecosystems are made up of lots of complex interactions that is evident in many cities around the world, where environmental injustice has been dictated by structural racism such as racial segregation in US cities. He further states that urban social inequality stems from historical and contemporary power imbalances, producing effects that are often intersectional, involving race, economic class, gender, language, sexuality, nationality, ability, religion, and age. These types of social inequalities risk the cultivation of future stewards of our planet, or the next generation of biodiversity protectors. Dr. Schell concludes that because of these kinds of factors “The decisions we make now will dictate our environmental reality for centuries to come.” “Two timely examples include the Green New Deal proposal and Paris climate agreement.”
GRAYTOWN, Ohio — A trial judge’s 2019 decision to block Rocky Ridge Development LLC from using an abandoned Ottawa County quarry to bury spent lime and chemical residue from Toledo’s Collins Park Water Treatment Plant has been upheld by the 6th District Court of Appeals. Read more.
Photo from The Blade
Two leaders from the long-time environmental justice community known as “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana were arrested on June 25th for peacefully protesting against the Taiwanese petrochemical company, Formosa Plastics. The company plans to build a plastics manufacturing facility in the backyard of a predominately Black Louisiana community that has already experienced large health detriments from polluting industries in their community. Read More
Photo by: Ron Moyi/Louisiana Bucket Brigade
Midland, Michigan is still assessing the damages after torrential rain and dam failure flooded the area. The height of concern was the status of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Saginaw River Dredge Material Disposal Facility that houses dioxin contaminated sediments that could have spread from the storm water. The facility appears to have remained in tact; however, there is still concern that the flood could have spread river sediment already contaminated with dioxin from Dow towards residential properties. It may take some time to fully determine the extent of the damage in Midland as many properties are still under water. Read More.
Everyday the nation’s government and public health officials are making rapid decisions in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. To assist officials in their decision making and response to the virus, the NAACP has provided a resource that highlights 10 major impacts the virus could have on minority or low income communities. Read More.
Full Resource Guide
The following considerations and proposals can be found on the NAACP website.
10 Impacts of the Coronavirus COVID-19 Outbreak on Communities of Color
- Racism and stigmatization have increased, particularly towards the Asian and Asian American populations.
- Certain populations including immigrants, incarcerated people, people over 60 years old, people with disabilities, people with special health needs, and others are at an added risk of exposure and other implications.
- Frontline workers face tough choices between abstaining from work or risking exposure.
- Census and voting may be jeopardized as public outings continue to dwindle.
- Coronavirus remediation will result in increased exposure to toxic cleaning chemicals.
- Children and college students risk exposure in schools. If schools close, students may experience food or housing insecurities.
- There is a lack of accessibility to testing kits.
- Quarantine policies and practices are unfolding with a risk to human and civil rights.
- The coronavirus has already been used to justify increased militarization and more restrictive immigration policies and practices.
- Denial and misinformation on the crisis can worsen the outbreak.
10 Policy Recommendations to Temper the Impact of the Coronavirus on Communities of Color
- Shift the narrative surrounding the crisis: “The virus is the enemy, not the person who is infected.”
- Adopt policies that increase access to childcare, healthcare and humane, sanitary living conditions to at-risk, vulnerable populations.
- Advocate for the establishment of a paid leave system, strengthened OSHA standards, provision of training and safety gear, and routine testing for all workers.
- Ensure the data collection for the Census through online and telephone enumeration, extend voting hours, and minimize large gatherings.
- Significantly increase the stringency of the Toxic Substances Control Act.
- Advocate for equal standards of sanitation, safety, and health as well as education continuity, food assistance for families and the establishment of housing assistance through Stafford Act provisions.
- Advocate for funding for an effective health infrastructure, prioritization of testing for vulnerable groups/populations, and equitable distribution of limited hospital supplies.
- Establish and enforce a Quarantine Bill of Rights.
- Establish sanctuary sites, repeal the travel ban and repeal of the restrictions on the provision of healthcare to immigrants.
- Advance litigation for the willful misleading of the public for political gain while jeopardizing the wellbeing of the nation.
In continuance with its action plan to regulate forever chemicals, including PFAS, the EPA has announced that it will be conduction criminal investigations against the cancer linked chemicals. The EPA has not elaborated on exactly who or what it will be investigating; however, some companies have released that they might be under investigation. Read More.