Beyond Nuclear and the NYS Alliance for a Green Economy are challenging the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to shut down the dangerous FitzPatrick reactor in upstate New York, which has the same design as the tragic Fukushima reactor in Japan.  Yesterday, the groups gave presentations to NRC’s Petition Review Board urging them to shut down the reactor, located in Oswego, NY, north of Syracuse. The FitzPatrick Fukushima-design GE Mark I Boiling Water Reactor’s design is unprepared for managing a severe accident. The groups outlined the serious risks of the design in

Eleven environmental groups are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force it to better regulate toxic coal ash.   Using EPA’s own data, the groups highlighted how coal ash has polluted groundwater at at 29 coal ash dump sites in 16 states. Earthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of the groups on April 5th.  They noted that EPA has not updated coal ash disposal regulations in more than 30 years despite evidence of “leaking waste ponds, poisoned groundwater supplies and threats to public health.” Coal ash is produced mainly by coal-fired power plants and contains a