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Dec. 12, 2005: The rule promulgated under
the US Environmental Protection Agency's Office of
Pesticide Programs would have severe negative effects,
allowing intentional exposure to pesticides to children
and the unborn. Also, the EPA acknowledges that the
impact of this rule change would have implications for
new rulemakings at other federal agencies. But
the rule does not meet minimum standards of ethical
medical practice.
BREDL comments on rule
First National Conference on
Precaution: June 9th - 11th, 2006 in Baltimore, MD -
Join with groups across America who are applying the
precautionary approach to environmental hazards by
shifting the focus to "how can we prevent
harm?", instead of asking "what level of harm
is acceptable?" This national event will bring
together people working on conservation, disease
prevention, environmental justice, environmental health,
green purchasing, precautionary business practices, toxic
and nuclear pollution prevention, worker safety and more
to build a stronger movement to protect our health and
environment. More Details
Sept. 09, 2005: BREDL letter to New York City's Mayor
Bloomberg endorsing the New York City Zero Waste
Campaign and urging his support. (posted
12/05/05)
The Alleghany County, North Carolina
Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on November 8,
2005 to endorse a plan to zone polluting industries and
high impact land uses. The move was done at the request
of local residents led by Alleghany Citizens for
Environmental Safety (ACES) who are concerned about a
proposed asphalt plant locating in Laurel Springs on N.C.
18. The ordinance effectively blocks a polluting industry
from locating within 2000 feet of a school, day care,
nursing home, medical facility, church or residential
dwelling. The vice president of the asphalt company
claims that the company’s efforts to build are
‘grandfathered in’ because the company applied
for a state air pollution permit. However, no such right
is granted by the mere submission of a permit
application. View the ordinance that was passed at: http://www.alleghanycounty-nc.gov/ordinances/1-296.PDF
On October 15, 2005, Bonnie and Claude
Ward, affectionately known as “Bonnie &
Clyde," were given special recognition for their
many years of service to the Blue Ridge Environmental
Defense League.
Nov. 5, 2005: Factsheet: Toxic Air
Pollution Levels in Canton, NC from Blue Ridge Paper
Products, Inc.
Oct. 25, 2005: Problems
with Dominion Nuclear North Anna's Early Site Permit and
the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act | Read BREDL's Oct. 25 letter to Virginia DEQ | View Map Attachment to
letter Dominion-Virginia Power
is attempting to mischaracterize the permit in an attempt
to limit the scope of the state's required coastal zone
review. Dominion states that the existing power plant and
the proposed nuclear site permit (ESP-Early Site Permit)
are not located within Virginia’s Coastal Zone.
However, North Anna Power Station is, indeed, within the
Virginia coastal zone which includes Spotsylvania
County‘s portion of Lake Anna. Dominion downplays
the permit's impacts. But activity permitted by the ESP
would include major construction including clearing and
grading for roads; construction of warehouses, utilities
and concrete mixing plants; excavations for facility
structures; sewage treatment plants; and intake and
discharge structures, water lines, and cooling towers.
Finally, Dominion’s certification is inconsistent
with the National Environmental Policy Act, which
requires consideration of cumulative impacts and
connected actions. The ESP permit and the pending
Combined License are “connected” actions as
defined in the Council on Environmental Quality
regulations at 40 CFR 1508.7.
Oct. 20, 2005: Analysis: Asphalt
Plant versus Wood Stove Pollution - Comparing Apples
and Hedgehogs (a household wood stove emits but a tiny
fraction of the pollution emitted by an asphalt plant.)
October 2005: An Overview of Polluting
Industry Ordinances: The Wilkes County Model
Factsheet: Maymead
Inc. proposed asphalt plant in the Laurel Springs
community of Alleghany County, NC. (Oct.
24, 2005)
Oct. 19, 2005: BREDL
comments on Green-e's proposal to certify municipal solid
waste gasification as an eligible renewable energy
resource. Green-e is the nation's leading independent
certification and verification program for renewable
energy products. The Green-e Standard establishes the
technical criteria that electricity products must meet to
be eligible for Green-e certification. Read all comments submitted nationally
| Find
out more about Green-e
Sept. 23,
2005: APAC: POLLUTING WITHOUT
BOUNDARIES
This is a report on APAC-Atlantic, Inc., one of the
nation’s largest transportation construction
contractors. The League's report lists APAC's violations
of environmental laws and citizens’ complaints for
the asphalt plants which the company operates in
Rutherfordton, Burnsville, Penrose, Hendersonville and
Morganton, North Carolina. Our report is based on public
records on file in the NC Department of Environment and
Natural Resources Division of Air Quality. The
company’s track record in western North Carolina
reveals a corporation that shows little care for the
health and well-being of the people who live nearest the
asphalt factories it operates.
Sept. 01, 2005: Read BREDL letter to Nuclear Regulatory
Commission On February 17, 2005
at a Nuclear Regulatory Commission public hearing, a man
who identified himself as an employee of
Dominion-Virginia Power falsely accused the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League of misusing public health
data. His allegations not only have no basis in fact,
they do nothing to alter our conclusion that deaths
increased significantly after Dominion's nuclear reactors
began operation. In this letter the League demonstrates
why the allegations are false and asks the NRC for
further investigations into death and disease in the
communities around the North Anna nuclear power station.
August 30, 2005: BREDL Report on 2005 Southern Energy & Environment Expo, which was held at the Western NC
Agricultural Center in Fletcher on August 26-28. The Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League participated with an
information booth, two workshops, and a parking lot-sized
educational display. The League’s focus this year
was nuclear power and nuclear waste transportation.
APAC Atlantic proposed asphalt plant in
the Henrietta community of Rutherford County, NC. (Aug. 11, 2005)
Factsheet: New
Nuclear Plant Sites on the Yadkin River, NC? (posted 8/24/05)
July 26, 2005: Read BREDL July 26, 2005 letter to Jean Sulc, Chair, Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory
Board. Today citizens called upon the Savannah River Site
Citizens Advisory Board to use its powers to bring an end
to a pattern of delays and waste at the old weapons plant
near Aiken, SC. Citing audits by the Department of
Energy’s Inspector General, the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League detailed a ten year
environmental cleanup gone wrong and tens of millions of
tax dollars wasted.
July 12, 2005: Read BREDL July 12, 2005 letter to Robert
Meisenheimer, WM Committee
Chair, Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board. | On
March 29th, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
informed the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board
that we believe that the Department of Energy provided
falsified data to Congress, information which affected
federal legislation for the ongoing clean up of atomic
weapons waste at SRS. On May 23rd the League presented
supporting data to the CAB. Subsequently, we were invited
to present this information to the CAB's Waste Management
Committee. On July 12th, we made four recommendations.
1. Block the U.S. Department
of Energy from disposing high-level radioactive
waste in South Carolina, a precedent which also
threatens communities with contaminated DOE sites
in Idaho, Washington and other states.
2. Direct DOE to immediately implement an open,
transparent and public review process on
high-level nuclear waste tank closures.
3. Grant EPA direct regulatory authority over the
disposal of DOE's high-level radioactive waste.
4. Ensure that the external regulator of
high-level waste have the discretion to set an
appropriate cleanup standard for the waste that
protects public health and the environment.
|
May 23,
2005: On behalf of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League, I request to present the information requested by
members of the SRS Citizens Advisory Board at the last
meeting. As you may recall, on March 28th I provided
federal budget documents which revealed that the $16
billion in savings promised during passage of Section
3116 of the 2005 Defense Authorization for clean up of
high-level radioactive waste tanks was not evident.
Further, I said, “We at BREDL are convinced that the
DOE provided falsified data to gain an exemption so it
could add cement to the waste, leave it underground, and
reduce costs.” Some CAB members took issue with this
statement and I am here today to provide documents which
will demonstrate the accuracy of our contention. - Lou
Zeller, BREDL | BREDL May 23 statement to SRS CAB
May 9, 2005: Prevent
the Reprocessing of Military Plutonium Wastes into Fuel.
Statement to the Review Conference of the Parties to the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Delivered May 11, 2005
at the United Nations in New York. Excerpt:
| We hereby stand opposed the
reprocessing of plutonium for fuel because it
presents unsupportable risks to public safety and
the environment, and undermines the goal of
nuclear non-proliferation. The circulation
of plutonium fuel in the commercial sector would
increase the risk of diversion. There is no way
to ensure that plutonium reprocessing facilities
for electric power will not be turned to military
use. We submit that a global movement for a
world without nuclear weapons must also halt the
drive for plutonium power. |
April 27, 2005: BREDL chapter members
from Group Against Stericycle Pollution (GASP for Clean
Air) joined David Mickey from BREDL and Kelly Heekin from
Healthcare Without Harm (HCWH) in a face to face
challenge of Stericycle's continued incineration of
medical waste in Haw River, NC. The five activists
traveled to Chicago where they attended the company's
annual shareholder meeting where Martha Hamblin from GASP
presented a resolution calling on the company to adopt a
plan to stop incineration of medical waste. John Powell,
Heather Bjork, David Mickey and Kelly Heekin spoke in
support of the resolution and cited Stericycle's recent
violations for mercury emissions.
After questions from other shareholders put Stericycle
management on the defensive, they became argumentative
about regulations and contracts, and refused any
suggestion that Stericycle should not accept dental
waste, the source of the mercury contamination, for
incineration. Nevertheless, the resolution received
enough shareholder votes to be presented again next year
when GASP will return using shareholder activism to
promote corporate responsibility.
Please check out the Health Care Without Harm Stericycle Watch
webpage to read statements by David Mickey of BREDL,
Martha Hamblin from BREDL chapter Group Against
Stericycle Pollution (GASP), and other Haw River, NC
residents made at the annual Stericycle shareholders
meeting held on April 27, 2005. Statements from previous
meetings are also there. Excerpts from these statements
include:
| Your "Priorities for
2005" fail to mention any strategy for
reducing incineration at existing locations. -
David Mickey, BREDL In
my resolution I ask management and the board to
do the right thing— the right thing for the
public, the right thing for Stericycle’s
reputation and brand image with the medical and
investment communities, and, most importantly,
the right thing for its shareholders. What is the
right thing? Simply put, it is the elimination of
all incineration of medical waste not required by
law to be burned. - Martha Hamblin, GASP
One of Stericycle's stated
goals is to move away from incineration and yet
the company continues to purchase incinerators. -
Heather Bjork, Haw River resident
The company’s decision to
poison the environment in North Carolina with
hazardous air emissions lies on their shoulders
and their conscience. - John Powell, Haw River
resident
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ANTI-PLUTONIUM
CAMPAIGN
WINS CONCESSIONS
On April 18, 2005
the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued
the public version of its final decision on
the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League’s legal challenge to Duke
Power’s request to test plutonium fuel at
the Catawba nuclear power station. In its
application to amend its operating license, Duke
requested exemptions from post-9/11 federal
requirements designed to protect nuclear
materials from theft or sabotage. The judges
granted the exemption but imposed four
conditions that Duke is required to meet before
it can receive the fuel at Catawba. They are:
| 1. Duke shall modify
its security procedures regarding
plutonium fuel. 2.
Duke must demonstrate its ability to
counter an attempt at theft of plutonium
fuel by undertaking tabletop and
force-on-force exercises.
3. Duke must upgrade
its security monitoring procedures during
acceptance of plutonium fuel.
4. Duke must establish
and have in place all procedures
identified during the intervention
hearings for accepting the plutonium
fuel. These measures include coordinating
transfer of plutonium fuel from DOE,
coordinating with local law enforcement
agencies and ensuring that armed
responders are dedicated to the
protection of the plutonium fuel.
|
The plutonium
fuel tests necessitate the insertion of four lead
test assemblies (LTA) into the Catawba
reactor for at least two fuel cycles. Duke sought
to exempt Catawba Nuclear Power Station from the
regulations for Category I facilities which have special
strategic nuclear materials such as 2
kilograms or more of plutonium. Duke’s
Catawba nuclear station would contain 80
kilograms of plutonium during the proposed
plutonium fuel tests.
Commercial nuclear
fuel typically contains the oxide form of
uranium. The nuclear industry’s term
for this novel fuel is “MOX”
because it is a mixed oxide containing
both uranium and plutonium. But the
primary fissile isotope of the fuel is
plutonium, so we use the more accurate
term “plutonium fuel.”
Our case required access to sensitive
documents, Safe Guards Information,
making many of the legal proceedings
closed to the public. Relevant
information was provided only to our
technical consultant, Dr. Edwin Lyman of
the Union of Concerned Scientists, and to
our attorney Diane Curran, of Harmon
Curran Spielberg and Eisenberg, who
complied with all security requirements.
The Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board’s ruling, originally issued on
March 10th, required additional review
and approval before it could be released
to the public in censored format on April
18th. The redacted version is freely
available and is posted on our website. |
More info: Read ASLBP
decision (Public
Redacted Version)
BREDL Report: "Anti-Plutonium
Campaign Wins Concessions"
|
March 01, 2005: BREDL
comments on Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
North Anna Early Site Permit (.pdf)
Feb. 17, 2005 Rally and NRC Public
Hearing: Action Alert and more details. RALLY
AGAINST NEW LICENSING for NUKES at NORTH ANNA, Thursday,
February 17, 2005, 6:00 pm, Louisa County Middle School,
1009 Davis Highway, Mineral, VA. This rally precedes the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) hearing scheduled
for 7:00 pm concerning a site permit for two new reactors
at North Anna nuclear power station in Louisa County in
Central VA.
Feb. 10, 2005: Report
by BREDL staffer Charles Utley regarding the Savannah
River Site Health Effects Subcommittee meeting of January 25th. It is a good overview
of the dose reconstruction issue caused by activities at
the bomb plant.
Archives:
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