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Nuclear Regulatory Commission on what information to keep confidential.More: Nashville entrepreneur walks away from toxic landfill experimentMore: Abandoned landfill's future, costs still a questionHowever, NRC spokesman David McIntyre said he knows of no law or rule that makes confidential the location and quantity of waste and said: "I don't know why it would be."The NRC provides similar data concerning activities at the four federal low-level radioactive waste landfills it regulates to the public.Back in 2007, lawmakers debating the measure cited by TDEC made clear it was intended to keep confidential only information the federal government deemed secret.“It would have to be protected under federal law as being confidential before we could protect it under state law,” said then-Rep. Kent Coleman, the measure’s sponsor, according to archived audio of the discussions.More: Landfill padlocked; neighbors concerned about toxic futureMore: Tennessee toxic landfill controversy: New tests finds cancer-causing metals at unsafe levelsMore: Cancer-causing metal tested at unsafe levels in controversial Tennessee landfillDuring one April 2007 hearing, a TDEC attorney asked specifically whether the law would apply to keeping information on low-level radioactive waste secret said it would not, according to the audio.Ward, the TDEC spokesman, declined several requests to speak by phone to a Tennessean reporter last week and refused to make an expert at the agency's Division of Radiological Health available by phone. The Tennessean first made that request Nov. 6. Instead, Ward sent another email on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 17 declining to speak by phone a... (The Tennessean)
Suess who said he aims to be on site every other week.North Dakota State University soil scientists have test plots on site where they have been experimenting during the past two growing seasons to help return the soil to productive farmland."We've learned a lot about soil function after a disturbance and strategies to better improve that soil productivity," said Tom DeSutter, associate professor.Andeavor has provided $300,000 for the first phase of research, and NDSU is working with the company on a plan for a second phase.The test plots, which use different soil mixtures, have shown promising results with mixing the thermally treated soil with topsoil, DeSutter said."We're in a region where there's not lots of topsoil just laying around available," he said. "Sometimes, we have to think outside the box and make soil, if you will."The oil spill did not affect drinking water sources, Suess said. Monitoring wells installed on site allow health officials to watch for potential groundwater contamination.After the cleanup is considered complete, the health department will continue oversight of the monitoring wells for three to five more years, Suess said. That timeframe could be extended if necessary, but the monitoring would stop if conditions have improved."That doesn't seem like enough for me," Patty Jensen said.If contamination is discovered years in the future, Andeavor would be considered responsible for the site forever, Suess said.The Jensens have a friendly relationship with workers who have been cleaning their farmland for the past four years, with Patty Jensen often bringing homemade pies and the crews ready with hot coffee for the landowners.But it's been challenging at times, they say."There's been times it's mentally draining," Steve Jensen said.The Jensens say they're afraid to think about what could have happened if the spill had been caused by a company without the resources to follow through. Andeavor has spent at least $73 million so far on cleanup, according to what the company reported in February.The state health department fined Andeavor $454,000 for the incident."For us, it's not so much about the fine as it is how committed they are to follow through with the cleanup," Glatt said.The Jensens have invited members of the North Dakota Industrial Commission to visit and see the cleanup site firsthand. Gov. Doug Burgum, chairman of the commission that regulates oil and gas development, toured the site in July. The Jensens said they hope Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring will visit to see what a challenge it will be to return the land to a productive field."Anyone sitting on the Industrial Commission should see it," Patty Jensen said. "They need to see what can happen."The North Dakota Public Service Commission, which approves oil transmission pipelines, recently met with Andeavor representatives to discuss the spill, but commissioners have not visited the site.Following the spill, an investigation confirmed that the likely cause was a hole in the pipeline caused by electrical discharge, consistent with a lightning strike. The size of the spill highlighted the importance of technology to prevent spills and detect leaks sooner."Through this whole process, hopefully oil companies have learned that leak detection is really invaluable," Patty Jensen said. "I'm sure it pays for itself."... (West Fargo Pioneer)
In the early days of atomic energy, the federal government powered up an experimental reactor in Idaho with an ambitious goal: create a “wonder fuel” for the nation.The reactor was one of the nation’s first “breeder” reactors — designed to make its own new plutonium fuel while it generated electricity, solving what scientists at the time thought was a looming shortage of uranium for power plants and nuclear weapons.It went into operation in 1964 and kept the lights burning at the sprawling national laboratory for three decades.But enthusiasm eventually waned for the breeder reactor program owing to safety concerns, high costs and an adequate supply of uranium.Today, its only legacy is 26 metric tons of highly radioactive waste. What to do with that spent fuel is causing the federal government deepening political, technical, legal and financial headaches.The reactor was shut down in 1994. Under a legal settlement with Idaho regulators the next year, the Department of Energy pledged to have the waste treated and ready to transport out of the state by 2035.The... (Los Angeles Times)
In the early days of atomic energy, the federal government powered up an experimental reactor in Idaho with an ambitious goal: create a “wonder fuel” for the nation.The reactor was one of the nation’s first “breeder” reactors — designed to make its own new plutonium fuel while it generated electricity, solving what scientists at the time thought was a looming shortage of uranium for power plants and nuclear weapons.It went into operation in 1964 and kept the lights burning at the sprawling national laboratory for three decades.But enthusiasm eventually waned for the breeder reactor program owing to safety concerns, high costs and an adequate supply of uranium.Today, its only legacy is 26 metric tons of highly radioactive waste. What to do with that spent fuel is causing the federal government deepening political, technical, legal and financial headaches.The reactor was shut down in 1994. Under a legal settlement with Idaho regulators the next year, the Department of Energy pledged to have the waste treated and ready to transport out of the state by 2035.The... (Los Angeles Times)
I sat inside.I was going to use it my working space. Then I thought, this space itself is kind of interesting. I started experimenting with plastic bags of different thicknesses, using different kind of fans. I was using those plastics you get at Home Depot when you’re painting to cover up the furniture. I would cut them and seal it into different shapes.I started to use thinner and thinner plastics. They become more organic in their feel and the movement becomes more soft. That kind of started the process, just experimenting with these plastics and fan materials.“Reusable Universes: Shih Chieh Huang” at the Worcester Art Museum, installation view. Courtesy of Sarah Cascone.How did you start animating your sculptures? At first, I was using basic stuff, like Christmas light faders, a dual two-channel outlet that lets you plug in two different color lights. It alternates the channels to change the color.I wanted to learn some physical computing, so I snuck into a college class and learned programming. I was able to use the programming method BASIC Stamp to start animating my work. That allowed for more variation of the speed and the rhythm, but I wanted to have more complexity and control of the movement. I was struggling to develop a new control board system for several years. Everything got very, very complicated.A work from Shih Chieh Huang’s “Reusable Universes: Shih Chieh Huang” in progress. Courtesy of Shih Chieh Huang.Then I found an app that is used for concerts and theater lighting. It was able to communicate with the board that I had been building, so I didn’t have to write code any more. I can visually see how everything is controlled; each tentacle, each bag. That really changed how I was able to choreograph these movements for the Worcester show.Shih Chieh Huang in his studio. Courtesy of Shih Chieh Huang.How did you design the installation for the Worcester Art Museum, and did you face any challenges in bringing your vision for the show to life?Sometimes a museum has certain regulations about what you able to do with the space. Here, we were able to darken the ceiling, which was very high. There were two...
