A Nuclear Waste Site Where Biggest Fear Isn’t Radiation, but COVID-19
"Workers at ‘most toxic place in America’ are terrified to return to a site where there has been very little protection from the outbreak".
"Workers at ‘most toxic place in America’ are terrified to return to a site where there has been very little protection from the outbreak".
"With the push of a red button, one of the two operating reactors at an aging nuclear plant serving millions of people in the New York City area will shut down Thursday night as federal regulators consider the owner’s proposal to sell it to a company that plans to demolish it."
"Evergreen forests blanket the Grand Canyon's less traveled northern plateau, and the perfume of Ponderosa pine drifts down a creekbed to the bottom of the great redrock canyon. Downstream, the strangely blue waters of the Little Colorado River meet the main Colorado, coming from the southern plateau close to sacred places for indigenous people who have lived here for centuries. Both plateaus are also where mining companies want to unearth uranium."
"The Trump administration laid out a road map today for bolstering the nation's struggling nuclear industry through far-reaching measures that range from requesting an initial $150 million investment to launch a federal uranium reserve to expanded mining on public lands."
"The destruction of forests into fragmented patches is increasing the likelihood that viruses and other pathogens will jump from wild animals to humans, according to a study from Stanford University published this month."
"The U.S. government’s efforts to clean up Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has lumbered along for decades, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment."
"Exactly one year ago the nerve center of the U.S. nuclear deterrent was underwater.

SEJournal welcomes back from hiatus our WatchDog feature, now recast as an opinion column from Joseph A. Davis, Society of Environmental Journalists’ veteran freedom of information advocate and longtime SEJournal contributor. In part one of a two-parter, find out why we’re relaunching the new column, plus get Davis’ take on government openness (or lack thereof) around coronavirus, as well as more on SEJ’s deep commitment to open information and a rundown of its recent FOI activities. And watch for part two next week.

The latest entry in our ongoing “Covering Your Climate: The Emerald Corridor” special report looks at what the Pacific Northwest is doing to mitigate climate change, including reducing carbon emissions, limiting sprawl and congestion, pushing energy efficiency and pursuing carbon sequestration. Read the new tipsheet, plus check out our earlier report on climate impacts and our opening backgrounder.
"Federal regulators are recommending licensing a proposed multibillion-dollar complex in southern New Mexico that would temporarily store spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors around the United States."