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Florida Evacuates Ahead of Hurricane Charley MIAMI, Florida, August 13, 2004 (ENS) - Hurricane Charley is blowing 124 miles per hour north of Cuba this morning, heading for the Florida Keys, according to the National Hurricane Center.Thousands of residents and tourists evacuated the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Charley gained strength Thursday. The storm is expected to make landfall this afternoon or evening. Florida officials are urging people in coastal areas to evacuate their mobile homes, travel trailers, recreational vehicles, and boats. They say this could be Florida's biggest evacuation request since 1999, when Hurricane Floyd touched the state's east coast and prompted officials to urge a record 1.3 million people to evacuate. Charley is forecast to be a major hurricane as it approaches the west coast of Florida. The National Weather Center predicts storm surge flooding of two to four feet and with "large and dangerous battering waves" in the Florida Keys. Isolated tornadoes are forecast for southern Florida and the Keys. The storm follows Tropical Storm Bonnie, a smaller storm which dumped heavy rain across Florida's Panhandle Thursday. The American Red Cross is urging residents along the west coast of Florida to listen to the advice of officials and begin to evacuate the area. The Red Cross says it is prepared to open shelters in the affected areas, as necessary. Seven miles northwest of Crystal River, Florida, the Florida Power Corporation has declared an Unusual Event at its Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant. The company says it will have to shut down the Crystal River power plant due to the hurricane warning if Category 3 hurricane winds of 111 to 130 miles per hour are experienced on the site. Presently Hurricane Charley is exhibiting Category 2 winds of 105 miles per hour. A Hurricane Warning is now in effect for the Florida Keys from the Dry Tortugas to the Seven Mile Bridge and for the Florida west coast from East Cape Sable northward to the Steinhatchee River. Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued for the Florida and Georgia coasts from Cocoa Beach, Florida, to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. Florida Governor Jeb Bush has declared a statewide emergency, activating the State Emergency Operations Center. The Regional Operations Center of The Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region IV headquarters was activated Thdurs morning to coordinate response to Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley. The U.S. Coast Guard calls Charley "a very large and powerful storm," and is urging all marine interests to take "early and substantial action to ensure safety of the ports, waterways and vessels." The Coast Guard is warning that it may not be able to rescue boaters immediately before, during and after such a devastating storm. While many people are rushing to evacuate the area ahead of Hurricane Charley, Clemson University students are moving in closer to get a better look. They will hunt Hurricane Charley to gather research that may improve building techniques and codes to secure homes in the face of disaster. Cos Gardner and Brian Dick, graduate students in Clemson's civil engineering department, will meet with researchers from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and Florida International University to assemble a rapidly deployable 33 foot tall wind tower. Each steel-reinforced platform, which weighs up to 4,500 pounds, is designed to withstand hurricane-force winds and has special securing legs. The platforms can be fully extended and secured in place in as little as 20 minutes. The platforms feature three anemometers, specifically designed to operate in high-wind storms. The tower will communicate a series of wind-speed readings — from 33 feet, a standard reference height, and 15 feet, the height of a typical single-story home — to provide near real-time data to researchers via satellite. "It's a question of understanding that hurricane damage is not always inevitable or an act of God," said Clemson's David Prevatt. "If we can improve our prediction of the wind forces and failure mechanisms occurring in buildings, we can develop construction materials and building codes that will help produce safer homes and minimize the fear factor."
Electricity Reliability Law Missing on Blackout Anniversary PRINCETON, New Jersey, August 13, 2004 (ENS) - One year after a massive blackout darkened much of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada last August 14, the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) has prepared a status report that highlights the major actions that NERC and the industry have taken to improve the reliability of the North American bulk electric system. But legislation to require industry compliance with NERC standards is stalled in Congress.“As we near the anniversary of the August 14 blackout, the good news is that NERC and the electric industry have taken significant and meaningful steps to improve the reliability of the bulk electric system and reduce the risk of another major blackout,” stated Michehl Gent, NERC president and CEO. “The bad news is that we are still waiting for the passage of legislation by the United States Congress that would make compliance with NERC reliability standards mandatory and enforceable,” said Gent. “Until that occurs, we will work with the government and the industry to do everything we can to ensure that all entities whose operations affect the operation of the bulk electric grid comply with NERC standards, but that is not a substitute for legislation,” he cautioned. NERC Chairman Richard Drouin said, "Knowing that the rules need to be followed and actually following the rules are two different things. We have learned many valuable lessons from the blackout investigation. But what we already knew, and which the blackout underscored, is that our system of voluntary compliance with reliability rules is simply no longer adequate." Drouin said the investigation found that NERC reliability standards were violated, and that these violations contributed directly to the blackout. "As you can imagine, we are deeply disturbed by this finding. We are also concerned that problems identified in studies of prior large-scale blackouts were repeated. The industry must do better than this and we will make sure it does." Earlier this year, NERC and the U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force both issued thorough technical reports that examined the causes of the blackout. These reports contained extensive recommendations on a wide range of actions that must be taken to reduce the risk of a similar outage occurring in the future. The most significant actions NERC has taken to date include correcting the direct causes of the blackout, conducting extensive audits of all major system operators to ensure that they are prepared to operate the system reliably, and substantially revising existing reliability standards and developing new ones to ensure that the reliability “rules of the road” are understood and followed by all entities whose operations affect the reliability of the bulk electric system. Specifically, the NERC Board of Trustees will now receive detailed information on all violations of NERC reliability standards. Until now, virtually all compliance data was kept confidential at the regional level. Although many initiatives have been completed or are well under way, some will take years to implement, Gent says. NERC is working with the government task force to ensure that all recommendations resulting from these investigations are tracked and implemented. Taken as a whole, these extensive and cooperative efforts will go a long way to reduce the risk of another major outage in North America. To view the NERC status report and other blackout-related documents, go to: http://www.nerc.com/~filez/blackout.html
First Drugs for Internal Radioactive Contamination Approved WASHINGTON, DC, August 13, 2004 (ENS) - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two drugs for treating certain kinds of internal radiation contamination. The FDA is approving these two drugs as part of its ongoing effort to provide the American public the best available protection against nuclear accidents and terrorist threats.The two drugs - pentetate calcium trisodium injection (Ca-DTPA) and pentetate zinc trisodium injection (Zn-DTPA) - are "safe and effective" for treating internal contamination with plutonium, americium, or curium, the agency said. The drugs increase the rate of elimination of these radioactive substances from the body. They have been used for several decades as investigational drugs to treat patients in radiation contamination emergencies, but until the FDA announced its approval on Tuesday, there had been no approved drug products for the treatment of internal contamination with plutonium, americium, or curium. Release of plutonium, americium and curium could occur from laboratory or industrial accidents; or through terrorist attacks using a radiation dispersal device, ommonly known as a "dirty bomb." In order to encourage submission of new drug applications for these products, the FDA announced in September 2003, specific conditions and findings under which the two drugs could be approved through new drug applications. Internal contamination with plutonium, americium, or curium can occur through a variety of routes including ingestion, inhalation, or direct contact through wounds. The goal of treatment with Ca-DTPA and Zn-DTPA is to enhance the removal of these radioactive contaminants and therefore the risk of possible future biological effects including the development of certain cancers, which may occur years after exposure. Side effects include breathing difficulty and loss of essential nutritional metals such as zinc. The sponsor of Ca-DTPA and Zn-DTPA is Hameln Pharmaceuticals, GmbH, of Hameln, Germany.
Army Scientists Develop Vaccine Against Deadly Ricin FORT DETRICK, Maryland, August 13, 2004 (ENS) - Scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Maryland have developed an experimental vaccine against ricin, a potential bioterrorism agent, that has protected mice sprayed with a mist containing lethal doses of the toxin.Ricin comes from the castor plant, which is grown around the world. About 454,000 kilograms of castor beans each year go into the manufacture of castor oil, which is used in a variety of personal health applications, soaps and cosmetics, plastics, textiles, paints and varnishes, inks, adhesives, plasticisers, and embalming fluid. Given its ready availability and its high level of toxicity - particularly when delivered as an aerosol - ricin is a potent potential agent of biological warfare or terrorism. Currently, there is no vaccine or therapy available for human use. Ricin has been used as a weapon in several instances, according to the USAMRIID Medical Management of Biological Casualties Handbook. In February, small amounts of ricin were found on an automatic mail sorter in the Washington, DC, office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. No one was hurt by the toxin. In 1995, United Nations weapons inspectors found that Iraq had conducted research and development work on several bioterrorism agents, including ricin. From the Cold War era, Bulgarian exile Georgi Markov was attacked in 1978 in London with a device disguised as an umbrella. An assailant used the device to inject a ricin pellet into Markov's leg while he waited for a bus. He died four days later. A subsequent investigation showed that the Bulgarian secret service carried out the assassination with help from the former Soviet Union. When inhaled as a small-particle aerosol, ricin produces severe respiratory symptoms, followed by respiratory failure within 72 hours. When ingested, ricin can cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms followed by vascular collapse and death. There is no vaccine or therapy available for human use. The new vaccine candidate, called RTA 1-33/44-198, was tested in three groups of 10 mice each. One group received the purified protein alone, a second group received the protein plus a drug called Alhydrogel, and a third group was the control, receiving an injection of salt-water solution rather than the vaccine. The purified vaccine protected 10 of 10 mice from a whole-body aerosol challenge with lethal doses of ricin. The survival rate was the same with or without Alhydrogel. All 10 of the mice in the unvaccinated control group died. The next step will be to test the vaccine in nonhuman primates.
Two Older Air Tankers Pressed Back Into Fire Service WASHINGTON, DC, August 13, 2004 (ENS) - Two aging P-2V aircraft that were taken out of service earlier this year due to safety concerns will return to firefighting service on a limited basis, the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture announced on Thursday.Both aircraft will be outfitted with structural health monitoring devices to gather information on the stresses that occur to airtankers in the fire environment, which will help determine vital safety information for the remaining P-2V fleet. The two federal agencies in May terminated the contracts for 33 large firefighting airtankers due to concerns over their airworthiness as well as firefighter and public safety. The decision was based on safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board issued in April after its investigation into three fatal airtanker crashes related to in-flight structural failures. "This is another step in developing a clearer picture of the airworthiness of these aging aircraft,"said Rebecca Watson, assistant secretary for land and minerals management at the Interior Department. "We are going to ensure the safety of these aircraft while redoubling our ongoing efforts to protect communities from wildfire." The planes are urgently needed in many Western states. Eight new large fires were reported Wednesday, bringing the total of large fires burning today to 16. Two of these large fires are burning in northern California and one each in southern California, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada. "Safety is a top priority and a core value of our firefighting program,"said Mark Rey, under secretary for natural resources and environment at the Agriculture Department. "With our current fleet of aircraft, including single engine tankers, helicopters and other resources, fire managers continue our success rate of stopping over 99 percent of fires upon initial attack." The current fleet consists of 800 firefighting aircraft, including a mix of both large and small airplanes as well as helicopters. In June, USDA and DOI contracted with private companies for more than 100 aircraft to ensure firefighting effectiveness this season. Minden Air Corporation of Minden, Nevada owns one of the P-2V and Neptune Aviation of Missoula, Montana, owns the other aircraft. Minden's airtanker is already outfitted with the monitoring device; Neptune's would need to be installed. The aircraft would only be used in unpopulated areas and be subject to more frequent inspections than previously. This technique is similar to the Federal Aviation Authority's experimental use certification, which is used by FAA to reconcile uncertainties in airplanes. The P-2V was operated as a land based patrol bomber in the 1940s by the U.S. Navy. Known for its versatility and long flight range of up to 2,000 miles, the P-2V began to be used as an airtanker by private companies in the 1970s. Because the P-2Vs were decommissioned for military service before the U.S. Navy developed structural analysis and fatigue life limit programs, a service life limit was never established. The two airtankers join seven P-3 Orion aircraft that were returned to service following a thorough safety analysis. The remaining 10 aircraft in the P-2V fleet will not be returned to service at this time because unlike the P-3 aircraft, the operational service life, which is expressed in how many hours an aircraft can be safely flown according to the original equipment manufacturer, has not yet been established. However, USDA recently contracted with Lockheed-Martin, the original manufacturer of the P-2Vs, to obtain historical data on the aircraft to help make that determination. That process will likely cost approximately $500,000, to be paid by the federal government, and will take three to four months to complete.
Food Safety Projects Funded for 19 Universities, Colleges SPRINGFIELD, Ohio, August 13, 2004 (ENS) - The University of Arizona has been awarded a $414,340 federal grant for the assessment of perchlorate content and risks of food crops irrigated with Colorado River water. Perchlorate is the primary ingredient of solid rocket propellant that is increasingly found in soil and water. Perchlorate interferes with iodide uptake into the thyroid gland, and is especially harmful to child development.The University of California, Davis has been awarded $600,000 for a project on reducing the use of antibiotics and the incidence of antibiotic resistance on calf ranches. These are just two of the 19 awards to universities and colleges totalling $12 million announced by Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman Thursday through the National Integrated Food Safety Initiative. Veneman made the announcement in Springfield where she dedicated a National 4-H Monument and held a meeting to encourage young people to embark on careers in food production. Most of the awards are in the half million dollar range and cover a wide range of issues from a Texas A&M grant to develop food irradiation techniques to an Oregon State University grant to minimize cadmium residues in shellfish.
Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Cut From Endangered Candidate List WASHINGTON, DC, August 13, 2004 (ENS) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the black-tailed prairie dog is not likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future and no longer meets the Endangered Species Act definition of threatened. The agency has announced it is removing the animal as a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act."With new information regarding the range-wide impact of disease, chemical control and other lesser factors and recent state estimates of occupied black-tailed prairie dog habitat, the Service has determined that the black-tailed prairie dog does not meet the Endangered Species Act's definition of threatened," said Ralph Morgenweck, director of the Service's Mountain-Prairie region. Until now, the best scientific and commercial information available to the Service indicated that the impacts of disease, chemical control and other lesser factors were substantial enough to warrant listing of the black-tailed prairie dog as a threatened species. Since 2002, State agencies, Federal agencies, Tribes, and other parties provided additional information regarding the black-tailed prairie dog which was considered by the Service in an evaluation of the status of the species. The Service says improved survey techniques have allowed scientists to determine that while sylvatic plague and chemical control of the prairie dog population may affect specific large complexes, "they do not appear to influence range-wide species persistence." New information shows that the black-tailed prairie dog is more able to persist over time in light of ongoing impacts. The increase in the Service's knowledge of additional occupied habitat played a supporting role in the decision to remove the species from the candidate list. Black-tailed prairie dogs are found east of the continental divide in the states of Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. They have disappeared in Arizona. Prairie dogs are small, stout ground squirrels 14 to 17 inches long and weighing one to three pounds. The black-footed ferret, swift fox, mountain plover, ferruginous hawk, burrowing owl, and numerous other species are dependent upon prairie dogs to varying degrees. The Service estimates there are 1,842,000 acres occupied by prairie dogs in the United States.
Wind Farm Projects Languish Without Federal Tax Incentive WASHINGTON, DC, August 13, 2004 (ENS) - Wind projects totaling more than 2,000 megawatts (MW) in capacity - enough to power more than half a million American homes - are awaiting the expected renewal of a major federal tax incentive, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said Tuesday in its quarterly U.S. market outlook.New projects in the pipeline amount to more than $2 billion in business, said AWEA executive director Randall Swisher, and they are ready to provide millions of dollars of tax revenues and hundreds of skilled jobs to rural counties around the nation, once Congress renews the wind energy production tax credit. Wind farms ready for construction in California, Arizona, Wisconsin, Kansas, Iowa, Maine, and New York are on hold. The wind industry installed a near-record 1,687 megawatts in 2003, but most new wind energy projects are on hold this year because of the uncertainty created by Congress' delay in renewing the tax incentive, AWEA said. The industry has installed less than 30 MW of new capacity so far this year, and the trade group said it does not expect more than 350 MW total in new projects by the end of the year.
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