Tagged: environment

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Energy
8:53 am
Thu May 16, 2013

Northwest Nuclear Plant Scores Higher Safety Rating

Originally published on Wed May 15, 2013 3:59 pm

Federal regulators say the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear power plant is now back on course after an 11-year safety miscalculation. The new designation means the Columbia Generating Station in southeast Washington gets a more relaxed inspection and oversight status.

Between 2000 and 2011, workers at the nuclear plant used faulty estimates for how much radiation could escape during a crisis. That mistake and others were found in an inspection just last year.

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Hanford Cleanup
11:26 am
Tue May 14, 2013

Some Hanford Water Cleanup Exceeds Expectations

Credit CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company

Originally published on Mon May 13, 2013 5:02 pm

Cleanup of a hazardous chemical called hexavalent chromium in the groundwater at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington is going faster than expected.

Hexavalent chromium is the nasty stuff that made Erin Brockovich famous down in California. The chemical was used to inhibit rust in coolant water in Hanford’s reactors. But that water was dumped into the desert, and now the cancer-causer is making its way toward the Columbia River in large groundwater plumes.

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Duwamish Contamination
10:44 am
Tue May 14, 2013

Time To Speak Is Now On $305 Million Duwamish Cleanup Plan

Credit Earthfix / Ashley Ahearn
People in communities along Seattle's Lower Duwamish River, a superfund site, came together to learn about the EPA's proposed cleanup plan, open for public comment until June 13.

A century’s worth of contamination in Seattle's only river is about to get a $305 million cleanup. Before finalizing a decision on the proposed plan, the Environmental Protection Agency is asking the public to weigh in.

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Restoring The Elwha
7:25 am
Thu May 9, 2013

In Largest Dam Removal In US History, Which Fish Get To Recolonize?

Credit Earthfix / Ashley Ahearn
Field technicians with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe catch steelhead in a murky side channel near the mouth of the Elwha and prepare them to be transferred into pristine habitat above the former site of the lower dam.

From where Mike McHenry stands he can see several gray, torpedo-shaped bodies moving slowly through the brown water of this side channel of the Elwha River, not too far from the site of the largest dam removal project in US history.

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New Habitat Revealed
9:12 am
Wed May 8, 2013

Elwha River: Recovery Proceeds Despite Sediment Setbacks

Credit Earthfix / Ashley Ahearn
The largest dam removal in US history has changed the face of Washington's Elwha River and scientists are trying to get a handle on what creatures are using the newly available habitat.

One of the two dams on the Elwha River has been completely removed and there are about 50 feet of the remaining Glines Canyon dam left. Already so much sediment has been released that it's clogged up and shut down one of the water treatment plants in nearby Port Angeles, temporarily halting the largest dam removal project in US history.

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