Environment & Science

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Environment & Science
9:33 am
Thu May 16, 2013

Kalamazoo rallies to pressure EPA to remove hazardous paper mill waste

More than a hundred people, a dozen strollers and a few dogs lined up and marched about halfway around the Allied landfill site in Kalamazoo Wednesday night chanting – “What do we want? Cleanup! When do we want it? Now!”

It isn’t a typical landfill. It’s where a paper mill dumped decades-worth of waste that’s laced with cancer-causing chemicals.

Everyone here wants the pile gone. They don’t care if it’s the most expensive option and the company that owned the site went bankrupt.

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Energy
7:17 am
Wed May 15, 2013

Residents, regulators, activists and plant workers mingle at Palisades’ open house

Credit Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
Around 80 people came to Palisades' open house Tuesday night at a conference center in South Haven.

You can listen to a related Environment Report segment above or read an expanded version below.

Even though Palisades is temporarily shut down, the nuclear power plant last night held a public open house it had scheduled more than a month ago.

In a small conference center in South Haven Tuesday night, anti-nuclear activists mingled with federal nuclear regulators, residents, and plant workers. Palisades Site Vice President Tony Vitale says that's a good thing. He says the open house is designed for people in the community to come talk to some of the plant workers firsthand.

“We’re not hiding anything. We want to run, and will run, and I will demand we run a transparent operation,” Vitale said.

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Stateside
4:54 pm
Tue May 14, 2013

The latest on the leak at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant

Credit Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
Palisades Nuclear Power Plant is on Lake Michigan south of South Haven.

An update on the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant.

In West Michigan, crews are continuing to try and figure out what caused the release of slightly radioactive water from the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in southwest Michigan.

The plant was shut down a little over a week ago because of the leak, and crews say they have discovered a new crack in a water tank that's been leaking on and off for at least two years.

Michigan Radio's West Michigan reporter Lindsey Smith joined us today to talk about

Listen to the full interview above.

Environment & Science
3:21 pm
Tue May 14, 2013

New poll shows Michiganders holding conflicting views of 'fracking'

Credit Steve Carmody/Michigan Radio
Anti-fracking protest (file photo)

A new poll shows a slim majority of Michiganders support natural gas fracking, though they want the industry to face more regulations and pay more taxes.

Michigan’s natural gas industry has grown as companies have used a technique called Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, to break up shale deposits releasing natural gas.

Critics complain fracking is contaminating drinking water and causing other environmental problems.

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Energy
11:41 am
Tue May 14, 2013

Palisades closer to solving leaky tank issues, Upton says he’ll return before plant reopens

Crews are still trying to figure out exactly what caused an unplanned release of slightly radioactive water from the Palisades Nuclear Plant last week. They have discovered a new crack in a water tank that’s been leaking on and off for at least two years.

The plant was shut down a little over a week ago because of the leak.

“The risk to the plant safety was very small. There really was no increased risk,” Palisades Chief Operating Officer Tim Mitchell told reporters Monday afternoon.  

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The Environment Report
8:11 am
Tue May 14, 2013

Kalamazoo residents struggle with EPA over "Mount PCB"

  • You can listen to today's Environment Report above.

People in Kalamazoo are rallying to get rid of a major dump site that contains cancer causing waste.

Imagine decades’ worth of wood pulp and grey clay waste from the paper mill industry. There are 1.5 million cubic yards of it and it’s laced with polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs.

Now, plop it in the middle of a neighborhood.

Sarah Hill lives a little more than a mile away from what neighbors have dubbed "Mount PCB."

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Environment & Science
10:32 am
Mon May 13, 2013

'Outraged' by leak, Upton to tour Palisades Nuclear Plant

Credit Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert, Mich. near South Haven.

Congressman Fred Upton (MI-06) will head to southwest Michigan this afternoon, to check out the condition of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant.

The unplanned release of slightly radioactive water into Lake Michigan earlier this month “outraged” the Republican congressman, who chairs the U.S. House’s Energy and Commerce Committee.

“Every option must be on the table to ensure that the continuing leak will not occur again,” Upton said in a statement last week, suggesting that a full replacement of the leaky water tank may be in order.

Officials from the nuclear plant maintain that the leak will not harm the public or any of the plant’s 650 workers.

A commissioner from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be accompanying Upton on his tour today.

The congressman is expected to speak publicly after the visit.

Michigan Radio's Lindsey Smith will be there and she'll bring us more later today.

- Melanie Kruvelis, Michigan Radio Newsroom

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