Global Weather Phenomenon-Natural/Technological Disasters-Space Events-Epidemic/Biological Hazards-
Nuclear Events :
News Affiliate of Family Survival Protocol.com
Posted: Nov 03, 2015 5:15 PM CST Updated: Nov 03, 2015 5:39 PM CST
By JJ Bailey, Online News Producer
ST. PETERS, Mo. (KMOV.com) - Residents
in St. Charles County are familiar with seeing trains. Locomotives roll
through the county several times a day, but a topic under discussion involving the Westlake Landfill has some on edge.
If
a decision is made to remove radioactive waste from Westlake, railways
could end up transporting it. A derailment is always a risk near any set
of tracks, but if train carrying radioactive waste is the one that
derails, it could be a catastrophe.
“Basically, what we want is to
have the trains run at a slower speed coming through the towns,” said
St. Peters Alderman Rock Reitmeyer. “We don't want to see any accidents
coming through our area and dropping all this waste. It could have a
hazardous effect.”
Monday, November 02, 2015 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
(NaturalNews)
A five-year fire is burning beneath a landfill in a St. Louis suburb,
and it's rapidly approaching an old cache of nuclear waste.
At
present, St. Louis County emergency officials are unsure whether or not
the fire will set off a reaction that releases a radioactive plume over
the city. An emergency plan was put together in October 2014 to "save
lives in the event of a catastrophic event at the West Lake Landfill."
St.
Louis County officials warn, "There is a potential for radioactive
fallout to be released in the smoke plume and spread throughout the
region."
Many residents are taking precautions; some are buying
gas masks, while others are considering moving away. Just recently, over
500 local residents discussed the precarious situation at a church
meeting which usually draws in less than 50 people.
EPA not worried about the fire or the nuclear waste
Nothing
stands in the way of the uncontrollable landfill fire, which is
smoldering hot underneath the trash of the West Lake Landfill of
Bridgeton County, St. Louis. This "smoldering event" is not uncommon.
Fires ignite and smolder under landfills because the trash becomes so
compact and hot. In this case, the fire is brewing less than a quarter
mile from an old deposit of nuclear waste that threatens to spread
cancer-causing radon gas.
EPA
officials admit that although the waste may eventually emit radon gas,
it won't affect anything outside the landfill property. This is the same
EPA that polluted the Colorado River with 3 million gallons of toxic
sludge full of lead, arsenic and other heavy metals. EPA
contractors breached a mine, sending the sludge flowing into the Animas
river, which quickly turned putrid and murky. That pollution has now
spread to New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, infiltrating the countryside
with toxic elements. Why should anyone in St. Louis County trust the EPA with radioactive waste?
To
make matters worse, the EPA isn't even worried about the fire reaching
the nuclear waste. "We just do not agree with the finding that the
subsurface smoldering event is approaching the radiologically impacted
material," said Mary Peterson, director of the Superfund division for
EPA Region 7.
There have been no plans to remove the radioactive
waste as of yet, leaving local residents baffled and worried. Most
residents were unaware of the existence of the radioactive waste, which
had been dumped there illegally four decades ago. If it weren't for
activists educating the public about the waste, no one would know.
Radioactive waste comes back to haunt St. Louis
The
radioactive waste includes 8,700 tons of leached barium sulfate
residue. It was illegally dumped in the West Lake Landfill by Cotter
Corporation sometime after World War II and wasn't discovered by
investigators until 1973. The radioactive waste was left behind due to
the mishandling of uranium by Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, a company
that started out working for the federal government's Manhattan Project.
Since 1990, the West Lake Landfill
has been managed by the EPA and deemed a Superfund site. The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry recently warned all agencies not to disturb the surface
of the landfill.
They warned that radium-226, radon-222 and radium-228 could be released
into the air, putting people near the landfill at risk.
The
agency reported that radon levels in the area are often measured above
regulations "by as much as 10 to 25 times at individual surface test
locations." Moreover, radium increases people's risk of developing bone,
liver and breast cancer.
The EPA is downplaying the potential for a Chernobyl or Fukushima-like disaster,
but residents have every reason not to trust the agency's guesswork,
given its decades-long refusal to safely remove the radioactive material
from the area.
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Tonya
Mason, who works just feet away from the fence line of Republic
Services' landfill in Bridgeton, expresses anger that the air from
burning underground material has never been tested for contaminants on
Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015 at a meeting by Just Moms at John Calvin
Presbyterian Church. Hundreds of people gathered to hear about the
ongoing problems at the site. Photo by Christian Gooden,
cgooden@post-dispatch.com
More
than 40 years ago, radioactive waste was dumped at the West Lake
Landfill in Bridgeton. The decades since have been filled with legal and
political moves that have not gotten the site cleaned up.
Now
a growing number of residents want to know how dangerous it is to live
and work in the area as a fire burns underground in the adjoining
Bridgeton Landfill. More than 500 people showed up at a Bridgeton church
on Thursday for a meeting organized by residents. The monthly meetings
held for the last two years typically attract no more than 50.
The
surge in public interest comes after state reports showed the fire is
moving toward the nuclear waste, and radioactive materials can be found
in soil, groundwater and trees outside the perimeter of the landfill.
At
least six school districts have sent letters home in the last week
outlining their plans for a potential nuclear emergency. St. Louis
County recently released its own emergency evacuation plan that was
written last year.
Underground fires are common in
landfills as buried garbage can get hot, much like the bottom of a
compost pile. Typically they are monitored and allowed to burn out. But
none of the fires have gotten so close to nuclear waste, which was
created during the World War II era for St. Louis’ part in the
production of the atomic bomb.
Tornado damage in Mayflower, Ark. (Courtesy of James Bryant / Associated Press / April 27, 2014)
By Matt PearceThis post has been updated with the latest information.
April 27, 2014, 10:46 p.m.
The
worst tornado outbreak of the year struck several small towns across
the central U.S. on Sunday, killing at least 12 people, damaging or
destroying scores of homes and businesses, and sparking a search effort
in Arkansas that continued into the night.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe’s
office confirmed that at least 11 people were killed when twisters
struck near Little Rock. Another person was confirmed dead in Quapaw,
Okla. Nearby Baxter Springs, Kan., was heavily damaged.
Smaller
tornadoes were reported in Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi,
but it was in central Arkansas where the some of the most dramatic
rescue scenes were playing out. A tornado -- or a series of tornadoes --
appeared to scour a path dozens of miles long and possibly up to
three-quarters of a mile wide.
Officials said the twister crossed
Interstate 40, a crucial trucking artery out of Little Rock, while
drivers were still on the road, then thrashed the town of Mayflower
before continuing northeast to Vilonia and beyond. The National Weather Service reported that Arkansas Game and Fish Commission headquarters east of Mayflower had been destroyed.
Undated photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a landslide
trench and ridge east of Reelfoot Lake in Obion County, Tenn., made by
the New Madrid earthquakes in the early 1800s.
LOS
ANGELES — The New Madrid fault zone in the nation's midsection is active
and could spawn future large earthquakes, scientists reported.
It's
"not dead yet," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough,
who was part of the study published online Thursday by the journal
Science.
Researchers have long debated just how much of a hazard
New Madrid (MAD'-rihd) poses. The zone stretches 150 miles, crossing
parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri
and Tennessee.
In 1811 and 1812, it unleashed a trio of powerful
jolts — measuring magnitudes 7.5 to 7.7 — that rattled the central
Mississippi River valley. Chimneys fell and boats capsized. Farmland
sank and turned into swamps. The death toll is unknown, but experts
don't believe there were mass casualties because the region was
sparsely populated then.
Unlike California's San Andreas and
other faults that occur along boundaries of shifting tectonic plates,
New Madrid is less understood since it's in the middle of the
continent, far from plate boundaries.
Previous studies have
suggested that it may be shutting down, based on GPS readings that
showed little strain accumulation at the surface. Other research came to
the same conclusion by blaming ongoing quake activity on aftershocks
from the 1800s, which would essentially relieve strain on the fault.
Security Camera Captures Possible Meteor Thursday Evening
Courtesy the City of North Liberty
Story Created:
Dec 27, 2013 at 3:25 PM CST
Story Updated:
Dec 27, 2013 at 3:36 PM CST
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa - People across the Midwest reported seeing a
bright fireball streak across the sky Thursday evening ... and it was
caught on camera in North Liberty.
The fireball, a possible
meteor, was spotted at about 5:40 p.m. Thursday. Reports indicated that
it was seen across many Midwestern states, including Iowa, Illinois,
Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska and South Dakota.
The
metro area started the summer with heavy rains wiping out much of the
drought. Now because of the lack of rain since, "severe" drought has
made its way back to parts of the north metro. "The worst of the drought
stretches from the St. Cloud area through the northern Twin Cities
metro right down the Mississippi River through Winona," said
climatologist Pete Boulay. Boulay reported the worsening drought outlook
Thursday. "They're about 4 inches short at the airport. If you live in
Anoka, Washington, Ramsey Counties you're about five inches short of
normal," he said. "If you live down in Winona, they're missing eight
inches of rain." It's turned lush lawns into crunchy fields. The more
brown underneath Frank Rothanburg's shoes, the less green in his
pockets. "There's no work with all the grass being dead. There ain't
nothing to do," said Rothanburg. He estimates his Anoka company, Superb
Lawn Care, has lost $40,000 over the summer. "We've got places we
haven't mowed in three weeks now because they're just so burnt up," he
said. And it's not just rain that's missing. "We've only seen maybe
between 10 or 12 tornados for the year. And that's well below normal,"
said Boulay. And according to Rothanburg, even watering every other day
isn't helping. He is now hoping "Mother Nature" steps in. "Nothing's
helping. We need rain bad," said Rothanburg.
By DAVID PITT/Associated Press/ September 12, 2013
DES
MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The combination of heat and scarce amounts of rain
intensified the drought in several agriculturally significant states,
contributing to declining crop conditions in parts of the Midwest and
South.
However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a
separate report Thursday the expected record corn harvest and
third-largest soybean crop are on track, since areas that aren’t seeing
as severe a drought will produce enough to make up for the driest
regions.
Crops in states such as Kentucky and Tennessee look
better than they did a month ago, the USDA said, while Iowa and Missouri
are suffering from the heat.
‘‘The fringes of the corn belt are
producing enough to offset Iowa’s loss,’’ said Chad Hart, agriculture
economist at Iowa State University.
This week’s national drought
monitor, which tracked conditions from Sept. 3 to Tuesday, shows nearly
50.7 percent of the contiguous United States is now in moderate drought
or worse, up from just over 50 percent the week before.
The report
said in Iowa, the nation’s largest corn producer, severe drought spread
to nearly 42 percent of the state — up from 32 percent a week ago. All
but two of the state’s counties, both in east-central Iowa, are
experiencing some level of drought or abnormally dry conditions.
Doyle Rice, USA TODAY 6:05 p.m. EDT September 12, 2013
Drought is at its largest percentage since April.
Drought
covers more than half of the country and is at its largest percentage
since early April, according to this week's U.S. Drought Monitor, a
weekly federal website.
As of Tuesday, 50.7% of the contiguous USA is in a drought.
Hot,
dry weather over the past week led to worsening drought in the central
USA: In the Midwest, where temperatures have been as much as 10 degrees
above normal over the past week, drought expanded in parts of Missouri,
Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the
monitor.
For example, since July 1, La Crosse, Wis., has received
only 2.4 inches of rain, the driest July 1-Sept. 10 period on record for
that location.
